care act so we can get out of the paperwork business. using technology so you do not have to burden positions with filling out all these forms. insurance companies will be able to keep track of records electronically. this is one of the great advantages of the affordable care at. for everyone in our country, the supreme court has the last say on this. they have spoken. we can now move forward to make sure people who have had no coverage, no doctors to see, no opportunity to have coverage, now are going to be able to make sure they can have a quality health care. i think all of us should applaud that. that is what it means to be our brother's keeper. host: thank you.

we appreciate you being with us this morning. the house of representatives is in session today. including work on surface transportation. "washington journal" will be back tomorrow morning for a full three-hour program. a lot more discussion on the affordable care act. think you for being with us. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the

u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by the chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: eternal god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. as this house adjourns in anticipation of independence day, we ask your special blessing upon our nation. we have many things to be thankful for and ask that you send your spirit that we might

continue to live our freedoms with responsibility and integrity. help us to be truly grateful for what we have and generous as well. bless the members of this assembly and their families in the time they have together at home so that when they return they are rested and energized to take on the important work that faces them concerning our economy and national security in today's world. these have been historic days. issues of great importance have been decided in much commentary and argument has ensued. bless our nation and its citizens, especially those whose energy and emotions are stired. with good will, in an abiding trust this nation will emerge in an even greater future as this has so many times before. give us the faith to believe

and increase our trust in you. all that is done today be for your greater honor and glory. amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. . the pledge of allegiance today will be will he bid -- will be led by the gentleman from nevada, mr. heck. mr. heck: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain up to five one-minute requests on each side. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker: without objection, so ordered. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, yesterday's decision by the

supreme court to uphold obamacare is discouraging for america's small businesses by destroying jobs and threatening families with the loss of their insurance policies. when the lobbied for the passage of the 2,700-page health care takeover, he promised americans that the individual mandate was not a tax increase. chief justice roberts based his opinion on his view that it is a tax increase which contradicts the president as being incorrect. chief justice roberts and the four liberals now confirm the president has been inaccurate. not only will this tax place more hardship on small businesses to follow the law but already 12,000 pages of regulations have been issued with 150 new boards and agencies and programs destroying jobs. on june 11, the house of representatives, under the leadership of john boehner and eric cantor, will vote to repeal the obama taxes. on november 6, american

citizens will have the opportunity to vote for repeal and reform. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. barrow: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to express my thanks to christy johnson gregory who is moving on from my staff after seven years of service to accept the position of special populations coordinator at augusta technical college. christy started as an intern in my office back in 2005 and she quickly rose up the ranks to serve as senior constituents services representative. every congressman knows just how important it is to have good staff and christy is the kind of staffer you need. covered some $3.7 million in benefits -- no telling how many homes she helped rescue from the brink of foreclosure. when you add it all up, she has

thank you letters from constituents and the appreciation for this congressman for a job well done. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from nevada seek recognition? mr. heck: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. heck: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to urge my colleagues to join me with in restoring the honor and valor by co-sponsoring by bill h.r. 1775, the stolean valor act of 2011. while yesterday our attention was focused on the supreme court health care ruling lost in the media frenzy was the story of how the court struck down the stolen valor act of 2005. concluding that the broad nature of the law infringed on the free speech in our constitution. the act sought to control and suppress all false statements on this one subject. without with regard as to whether the lie was made for the purpose of material gain, end quote. the stolen valor act of 2011

resolves these constitutional issues by clearly defining that the objective of the law is to target and punish those who misrepresent their service with the intent of profiting personally or financially. the finding the intent helps ensure this law will pass constitutional strute knee. mr. speaker, the need to protect the honor, service and sacrifice of our military personnel is just as strong today as it was in 2005. i ask my colleagues to sponsor h.r. 1775 so we can restore the honor and protect the valor of our military heroes. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from illinois seek recognition? ms. schakowsky: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. schakowsky: i rise today to mark the third anniversary of the civil war in sri lanka and urge the u.s. government to continue to press for full accountability for all human rights abuses committed during the conflict. over 70,000 sri lankans were killed during the course of the

26-year civil war. the united nations found claims that both sides committed war crimes to be credible. although the war and the three years ago human rights violations are reportedly continuing. reports suggests that over 50 people, mostly critics of the government, have been abducted in the last six months. human rights activists have been targeted for harassment and labeled as traitors in the national media. jendor-based violenc is on the rise -- gender-based violence is on the rise. the international community must call for accountability for the crimes during the conflict and we must urge the government to uphold its international commitments and fully respect the human rights of all sri lankans, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to share my

frustration with the congress' inaction on looming cuts coming to the nation's defense budget. in america's first district we have a deep military history. many continue to bravely serve their nation in a military uniform. set to take effect in january, 2013, sequestration will cut billions of defense dollars at a time when we see so much unrest across the world as many are deployed in harm's way in afghanistan. mr. wittman: i am opposed to these catastrophic cuts and i believe congress must act now. sequestration threatens the capability of our military to adequately protect this nation. the bipartisan policy center estimated that sequestration would result in a loss of about one million jobs in 2013 and 2014. this is not simply american job loss. it is a loss of critical national security capability. congress must not choose

failure over making tough choices for the greater good of this country. failure is an outcome we must not and cannot accept. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from -- for what purpose does the gentleman from washington state seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. smith: the house will take up a bill that is key for jobs now. first -- mr. larsen: the transportation bill will do more to create jobs through public investment than any other piece of legislation that this house has passed in the last 18 months. it puts thousands to works repairing roads, bridges and highways and maintaining our transit systems. second, this bill creates opportunity for the future by stopping a devastating interest rate hike on loans students take to pay for college.

college affordability is a necessary step for creating opportunity for the future. the bill sends a clear message to college students everywhere, that america will invest in you. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. poe: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: mr. speaker, here's what the people of texas think of the supreme court's ruling on obamacare. jason from kingwood, texas, says this. now that the supreme court has deemed every action of congress that it does is acceptable so long as it's considered a tax you can kiss it all goodbye. tax on gun ownerships, boxes of ammunitions, worship fees, mission trip tax, bible fee. but don't worry, they won't take away your right to vote. they'll dilute it with illegal voting and fuzzy accounting. but it won't be through taxation. stacy from texas also wrote me and says this. this really sets up so much

more of a nanny taxes and government telling us what we can do and cannot do. don't buy the right car, it's a tax. don't bite the right vegetables, tax. don't buy the right newspaper. tax. mr. speaker, the power to tax is the power to destroy. so what's the next tax from big government? congress and the supreme court both had their chance to voice their opinion. now it's time for the american people to voice theirs. and that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from hawaii seek recognition? ms. hanabusa: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. hanabusa: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i stood here two days ago addressing the patient protection affordable care act and reviewing its benefits. i stand here today after the landmark supreme court decision to make people aware of the republicans' efforts to repeal this historic piece of

legislation. the stakeholders must remember, senior, the prescription drugs already benefiting in savings. the adults that stay on their parent's plan, 6.6 million of you. small businesses who experience tax credits up to 50% by the year 2014. and women, women who suffer discrimination in premiums. and on pre-existing conditions like pregnancy. imagine being defined a pre-existing condition. these are just highlights and this is why we need to again focus behind the affordable care act and remember, remember it's the largest part of our g.d.p. that keeps growing and we need, we need to have it under control in order to have our great economy. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time is expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from illinois seek recognition?

mrs. biggert: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. mrs. biggert: mr. speaker, i i rise to congratulate david bonner on earning the president deppings award for excellence in mathematics and science teaching. he's a physics teacher at a high school in illinois. as a former school board member for the school district, as well as a member of the education and science committee, i have seen how important the education is preparing our students to succeed in the 21st century. i also know how special it is to have a great teacher who can inspire our students to get excited about a future in science, physics, math, and engineering. mr. bonner should be very proud to join the ranks of only 97 teachers from across the country who have been selected for this award by a panel of distinguished scientists,

mathematicians, and educators. he is a very important asset to our community, our children, and our future. i wish him the best of luck in the future. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? mr. yarmuth: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. yarmuth: mr. speaker, during the debate on the health care reform act, a the affordable care act, we continue to hear crowds of read the bill, read the bill, read the bill, as if those of us who supported the bill have not read it. i have read it and we were astounded of the misrepresentations out in the public foisted by our republican opponents. i'm going to be generous today and assume that they just hadn't read the bill, but now that bill is unquestionably the law of the land. so i implore my republican colleagues before they continue to mislead and confuse their constituents, read the law. read the law. read the law. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 717 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 142, house resolution 717, resolved that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 5856, making appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2013, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed

one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations. after general debate, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. points of order against provisions in the bill for failure to comply with clause 2 of rule 21 are waived except for section 8121. during consideration of the bill for amendment, the chair of the committee of the whole may accord priority and recognition on the basis of whether the member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the congressional record designated for that purpose in clause 8 of rule 18. amendments so printed shall be considered as read. when the committee rises and reports the bill back to the house with the recommendation that the bill do pass, the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or

without instructions. section 2, at any time after the adoption of this resolution, the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 6020, making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2013, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations. after general debate, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. points of order against provisions in the bill for failure to comply with clause 2 of rule 21 are waived, except as

follows, beginning with provided on page 95, line 9, through level on page 95, line 11. where points of order are waived against part of a paragraph, points of order against a provision in another part of such paragraph may be made only against such provision and not against the entire paragraph. during consideration of the bill for amendment, the chair of the committee of the whole may accord priority and recognition on the basis of whether the member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the congressional record designated for that purpose in clause 8 of rule 18. amendments so printed in shall be considered as read. when the committee rises and reports the bill back to the house with a recommendation that the bill do pass, the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without

instructions. section 3, upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider the conference report to accompany the bill, h.r. 4348, to provide an extension of federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the highway trust fund, pending enactment of a multiyear law re-authorizing such programs, and for other purposes. all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration are waived. the conference report shall be considered as read. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the conference report to its adoption without intervening motion except one, one hour of debate and two, one motion to recommit if applicable. section 4, it shall be in order at any time on the legislative day of june 29, 2012 for the

speaktory entertain motions that the house suspend the rules as though under clause 1-c of rule 15, relating to the following, a, measures addressing expiring provisions of law and, b, a concurrent resolution correcting the enrollment of h.r. 4348. section 5, the requirement of clause 6-a of rule 13 for a 2/3 vote to consider a report from the committee on rules on the same day it is presented to the house is waived with respect to any resolution reported on the legislative day of june 29, 2012, providing for consideration or disposition of the following, a, measures addressing expiring provisions of law, and b, a concurrent resolution correcting the enrollment of h.r. 4348. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida, mr. webster, is recognized for one hour. mr. webster: for the purpose of debate only, i yield the customary 0 minutes to my good friend from florida -- 30 minutes to my good friend from

florida, my colleague, mr. hastings, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. during the consideration of this resolution all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. webster: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of this rule and the underlying bills. house resolution 717 provides for a standard conference report rule for consideration of the conference report to accompany h.r. 4348, the surface transportation extension act of 2012, part 2 also known simply as the highway bill. the conference report for the highway bill represents a bipartisan, bicameral effort to address our aging national infrastructure and chronic unemployment with a two-year authorization. this long-term authorization transportation bill agreed to by both houses and by both parties in this conference report provides much needed certainty, provides certainty not only to

states and state governments but also to the transportation construction industries, and those americans whose livelihoods depends on them. rather than another short-term extension measuring mere weeks or months, this bill authorizes transportation funding for two full years and allows businesses to plan ahead, hire workers, and grow. the conference report ensures taxpayer dollars are spent on highway pryor infrastructure projects that support jobs and economy and economic activity. the conference report also contains significant reforms. it streamlines the lengthy bureaucratic approval process which reforms aimed at cutting and permitting process in half. it consolidates and eliminates duplicative federal programs and it embraces increased private sector involvement by leveraging federal dollars and local and state dollars with private sector funding. as importantly it also does -- it does this without any

earmarks and without any spending increases. the conference report also extends the current student loan rate of 3.4% for student loans for another year. this ensures that young americans have certainty when it comes to the terms of their student loans for the coming year, and because it is paid for, the conference report ensures that no further debt will be heaped upon the american taxpayer. finally, the conference report reforms and re-authorizes for five additional years the federal flood insurance program. this program depended on my many -- so many in times of natural disaster. house resolution 717 also provides for an open rule both for the department of defense appropriation act for 2013, and financial service general government appropriation act of 2013. the department of defense appropriation act of 2013 includes funding for critical national security needs and provides the resources needed to continue the nation's military efforts abroad.

in addition, the bill provides essential funding for health and quality of life programs for the brave men and women of our armed forces and their families. the financial service and general government appropriation act has jurisdiction over agencies responsible for regulating the financial and telecommunication industries, collecting taxes, and providing taxpayer assistance, supporting the operations of the white house, the federal judiciary, and the district of columbia. managing federal buildings, and overseeing federal workers. the activities of these agencies impact nearly every american and are an integral part of the operation of our government. so once again, mr. speaker, i rise in support of the rule and the underlying bill and encourage my colleagues to vote yes on the rule and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings, is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my friend and colleague for yielding the time. mr. speaker, i rise to express my disappointment not necessarily in this measure but in how it has come about.

we here are considering the rule for five unrelated measures the day before we recess for the fourth of july. once again we are rushing to the floor with vital legislation that most members have hardly had the chance to read. this rule is the very embodiment of congressional dysfunction. while my colleagues are busy playing political games, our nation's infrastructure is crumbling and we all know that. tuition costs are rising, and we all know that. and the economy is struggling. perhaps if my republican friends weren't so preoccupied with appeasing their base, we wouldn't find ourselves in this position yet again. we could have taken care of student loans back in march when the house first considered a measure to keep current rates.

however, instead of paying for it in a way that also amenable to both sides of the aisle, republican leadership chose to pay for it by cutting much needed preventive health funding. the president said he would veto the bill in this form, yet republicans still chose to waste this body's time and defer to the senate to come up with an affordable pay-for. the transportation bill we are considering has been an even longer time coming. over three years to be exact. while the conference report is not perfect, it is clear that we must pass a long-term re-authorization so that construction projects all across the country can move forward with repairing and improving our nation's aging transportation system and infrastructure. yet once again we find ourselves

racing against the clock without a long-term bill, opportunity to truly invest in our nation's infrastructure and economy, will continue passing us by. without a long-term bill, construction projects all across the country could shut down. and without a long-term bill, three million americans will be faced with not having a job after saturday. we should not have to pass nine extensions over three years' time to get to this point, and we will be better served, and this 27-month extension if we did a four or five-year bill. infrastructure investments are essential to our nation's economic growth and prosperity. this re-authorization should never have been held hostage by little gamesmanship, and this is simply -- there is simply too much at stake. short-term extensions put millions of jobs and the safety

of our nation at risk by casting great uncertainty on long-term transportation and infrastructure projects. this is unacceptable. furthermore, while i'm not happy about every provision in the flood insurance portion of this conference report, after 10 years since its last re-authorization, and countless short-term extensions, it's about time that we get a long-term extension. . yet, one senator from kentucky refused to allow the bill to impforward on the most specious of reasons, a vote on abortion. have yet to hear the senator to explain what abortion has to do with flood insurance, why he

would threaten security of the home of all those americans just to make a political point. but i guess i shouldn't be too surprised. last night i read where he said the supreme court decision, just because two or more persons at the supreme court make a decision, that doesn't mean that it's constitutional. i hope this guy goes back to law school if he ever went. finally, on today's underlying appropriations measures, i can only say, here we go again. once again the republicans refuse to provide the necessary funds to reach the hardest hit americans. once again, the republicans doesn't provide the resources to keep up rampant excesses at bay. once again, my friends on the other side of the aisle choose to undermine the long-term priorities of the nation in favor of partisan posturing. i've said before and i maintain again and now that the

republicans are living in a world of let's pretend. alice in wonderfulland, alice said if she had a world of her own, everything would be nonsense. in the republican world, as alice said, nothing is what it is because everything is what it isn't. in the republican world, mr. speaker, the best way to rein in the most corrupt practices of wall street is to underfund the s.e.c. the best way to close a $400 billion tax gap is to force the i.r.s. to fire thousands of taxpayer support employees. and the best way to ensure our national defense is to continue to pump in billions and billions of dollars in the nuclear weapons that serve no earthly purpose but to destroy our earth. what part of we have enough nuclear weapons to destroy every human being 25 times do we not understand? in this world, increasing

unemployment somehow improves our economy. defunding essential government programs somehow helps the hardest hit americans. and increasing defense department funding somehow serves the long-term needs of this country. well, it doesn't. for months we've known that student loan rates were set to rise. for months we've known that the highway bill was going to expire. and for months we've done nothing but use the house floor as a political playground. mr. speaker, our country cannot prosper if every piece of major legislation is held hostage to partisan interests. as alice said, again, referring to "alice in wonderland," and i quote, of all the silly

nonsense, this is the stupidest tea party i have ever been to in all my life. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman. the gentleman from florida, mr. webster, is recognized. mr. webster: thank you, mr. speaker. i would reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves? mr. webster: i do. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings, is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm very pleased at this time to yield three minutes to the distinguished woman from sacramento, former member of the rules committee, my good friend, ms. matsui. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for three minutes. ms. matsui: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman from florida for yielding me time. mr. speaker, this conference report includes a transportation bill that will help put americans back to work, and rebuild our infrastructure, and it will also ensure that students won't see a hike on their interest rates. this comes after 17 short-term

extensions for the national flood insurance program. mr. speaker, i represent sacramento which is the most at-risk metropolitan risk for flooding as it lies bewith between two rivers. since hurricane katrina, more than 2,500 homeowners have been remapped and flood insurance is now mandatory for them. the average homeowner in sacramento that has been remapped currently pays about $350 for a p.r.p. policy, that's a preferred rate policy. beginning in 013, they were set to pay $1,350 once the p.r.p. rate expired. however, that is no longer the case. this bill contains a number of important provisions, including a flood insurance phase-in amendment offered during debate

in the house nfip bill last july. instead of an overnight sticker shop for homeowners, they will be phased in at 20% per year for five years when preferred risk policies are no longer available in their community. specifically, it will effectively allow homeowners next year in 2013 residing in sacramento and the rest of the country to pay close to if not the same amount they're currently paying. each year after that the price of flood insurance will continue to be both affordable and predictable, only rising by 20% until it reaches full price in year five. this provision will save the average policyholder in a remapped area hundreds of dollars, if not a few thousand, over the next five years. mr. speaker, this provision offers real savings, especially in these trying economic times. whether it's for a senior

citizen on a fixed income or a family struggling to make ends meet. finally, i would like to commend chairwoman biggert and ranking member waters for working with me, for their continuous efforts to preserve this amendment and work towards achieving this five-year extension. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from florida, mr. webster, is recognized. mr. webster: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield four minutes to my good friend from georgia, representative woodall. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for four minutes. mr. woodall: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my friend from florida for yielding. you know, it's not often that i find agreement with both of my friends from florida at the same time. when i listened to my friend from florida, my democratic colleague on the rules committee in his opening statement, he's absolutely right. we're bringing five completely unrelated provisions to the floor in this conference report

today and we're bringing it in a rushed fashion so folks can get out of here and go home for fourth of july week. i agree with my friend from republican on the -- florida on the rch side of the aisle, this is a standard conference report rule. this is right. all of these things that the gentleman from florida, my democratic colleague, finds troubling are just part of the standard conference report process. you know, i have been watching this process for a long time and it's just the way things go around here. now we've done better. to be fair to this house leadership over the 18 months i have been here in congress, we have done better. we made a commitment to bring one idea at the floor at the time and 99% of the bills have been 10 pages or less. i didn't have to staff them out. i could read it myself.

the question goes to our colleague. i suspect if we put the question to my colleagues -- my friend from florida is true -- would you rather rush these five unrelated bills today and get home to the commitments you made this over the weekend or stretch this out? mr. hastings: will my colleague yield? you can't really believe that it should be standard procedure for us to do a 600-page bill that c.b.o. has not scored until just 10 minutes ago -- mr. woodall: i don't believe it should be standard but it is and it has been the entire my friend from florida has been serving here in this house. we have done better. to the credit of my freshmen colleagues, we have done better over the last 18 month and we will continue to do better. chief justice roberts had it right yesterday. the elections have consequences. the american people are responsible for what goes on here and, again, mr. speaker,

if folks want their representatives -- because we keep this calendar for a reason. you and i both have commitments to constituents starting at dawn tomorrow morning. now, we have commitments to constituents to keep with transportation bills going, to re-authorize flood insurance. on and on and on. we have competing commitments to our constituents. i would just hope that if my colleagues from asking -- mr. speaker, if you would ask your constituents, you know what, i would rather you cancel me this weekend and stay up there and get it right, then rush it through. now that said, that has not been partisan politics that's kept us from getting us here until this point. we have been working hard on this. credit to the folks in the transportation conferees committee, they have been working hard. getting to done today for whatever reason, this town only operates in crisis. i say to my friend, if we can work towards regular order i'd love to see regular order come to this institution. we have done better.

18 months on the job i have been here, you and i, we have done better. my colleague from florida and i, we have done better, but we can still do better but we are only going to do better if the constituents demand it. supreme court had it right. you can throw out the folks who aren't doing it right. mr. speaker, i encourage you to encourage all voters to look at what we do, see when we're getting it right and tell us and see when we're getting it wrong and ask us to do better. we can do better. we will do better. i yield back the balance of my time. i thank my friend for yielding to me. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings, is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i'm very pleased to yield two minutes to my very good friend from the virgin islands, dr. christensen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from the virgin islands is recognized for two minutes. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you for yielding. after 20 years of being fully and fairly included in the

surface transportation bill, what is being voted on today and what is being voted on today, the territories is cut by $10 million. while i'm glad our sister territory of puerto rico is being level funded it seems grossly unfair that the only the united states, virgin islands, guam, and the commonwealth of the marianas are singled out for cuts. why cut $10 million? or it could have been spread out over the entire blip and not raise a blip in the district and puerto rico. for us small economies it's a big blow. it could have been worse. discretionary and not secure. so while all the cuts, i have to thank the senate for hearing our pleas and keeping our funding in the trust fund. after all of the time, though, that we have waited for even this two-year infrastructure and transportation bill, i

could not in good conscience oppose the bill before us today. what is being done to the territories is unfair. it seems deliberative and unnecessary for us loyal americans to shed our blood just like every other in the defense and love of our country. fairness will demand that it be restored. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from florida, mr. webster, is recognized. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i am very pleased at this time to yield five minutes to the distinguished gentleman, my good friend from oregon, mr. blumenauer. mr. blumenauer: i appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in permitting me to speak on this bill. mr. speaker, there's no small amount of irony that we are having this discussion today. it's on the anniversary of president eisenhower signing into law the national defense highway act. this weekend will be the 150th

anniversary of the transcontinental railroad act signed into law by abraham lincoln. this was an era when republicans believed in infrastructure, in development. in fact, for most of our history, actually infrastructure has not been partisan. it's been something that people on this house floor could come together to work on. there would be differences to be sure, but for 20 years that i've been involved with this issue, we've been working to broaden our view of how to make transportation work better, involve citizens, more flexibility, make the dollars stretch. this came crashing to a halt with this congress. now, the bill that's going to come before us, i will very reluctantly vote in favor of. in part because of what's not

in it. remember, our republican colleagues tried to force through a bill which for the first time in history had never had bipartisan work, that came out of the transportation and infrastructure committee, that came out of ways and means. it in fact that never even had a full committee hearing. . mercifully it collapsed before it came to the floor. and one of the reasons i'll vote for this bill is because what the republicans wanted has been rejected. remember, they wanted to take away all the funding guarantees for transit. working with the senate we were able to resist that effort. they wanted to gut environmental protections. while you're going to find there's some problems with this legislation, at least it's not as bad as what our republican colleagues wanted. they wanted to completely

eliminate the guarantees for transportation enhancements, for bike and pedestrian. they are even going to eliminate the wildly popular safe routes to school bill. most of that has been retained, although they were successful in gutting the provisions for some reason for safe routes to school. we have a bill that actually is a little higher in terms of the funding level than what the republicans wanted. and it is at least going to be guaranteed for two years. it has some provision that is are important to those of us who have rural schools. oregon among them. it's going to make a big difference putting this strones -- strains -- stranse -- extraneous provision in. we worked on the finance title to be able to have the money come from something that's going to make it more likely that we stabilize some private pension

programs. it's not without merit. there are important things here, but the main reason to vote for it is because we have been able, working with the senate, to resist what the republicans attempted to i flict on the house and the american people. but make no -- to inflict on the house and the american people. but make no mistake it is not a bill to be proud of. it, as i mentioned, dramatically reduces the funding for the transportation enhancements. there is no rail, there are reductions in citizen opportunities for environmental protection and participation. it is sadly a missed opportunity that didn't need to happen. that could have allowed the senate bill in its entirety to be voted on and i'm confident that would have passed. or wonder of wonders, they actually could have worked like

we used to do in a bipartisan fangs, the last transportation bill -- fashion, the last transportation bill under republican control, passed with 412 votes. well, we have missed an opportunity. at precisely the time when america needs more investment in renewing and rebuilding, for transit, for roads, for rail, for water and sewer, there are a whole range of things we should be coming together to work on. i hope that the american public looks very closely at what was attempted here in the last six months. they look at what we managed to stagger through, and it is a wake-up call for people to be engaged. i have worked for five years with a broad coalition of stakeholders that's not partisan that are committed to making -- may i have 30 more seconds? the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields another 30 seconds. mr. blumenauer: to be able to work together on a vision for how we are going to rebuild and renew the country. how we are going to revitalize the economy, and how we make our communities more livable. our families safer, healthier, and more economically secure. if we are able to use this flawed process and sadly inadequate bill as a springboard, maybe in some ways it will have been worth it. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida, mr. webster, is recognized. mr. webster: thank you, mr. speaker. i just want to remind again as i said in my opening remarks, this bill has no earmarks. yes, we know how they did it in the past with 6,000, 7,000, 8,000 earmarks, and certainly there will be a lot of support among individual members if that were the case. this bill has no earmarks. it's good policy. yes, we could have a federal government says we know all. we know everything that's needed

in every single community and we could stamp out one of our famed cookie cutter approaches to funding transportation as we used to do sew that -- so that every single dollar has a little teeny category and every state is brought in to spending within those little teeny categories. yes, we could have done it that way, but that's the old way of doing it. we did it a different way. we actually had a conference, no earmarks, and we gave states flexibility. we sent to the states the opportunity to decide. did we take out any of those things that were mentioned? absolutely not. they are all options. so every single dollar we send to the state, the state has an opportunity to say, maybe we don't want to do a sound -- whatever it is that's there. no, we can take the flexibility that's given to us. we can use it. we can use it to our benefit far better to build a transportation bill from the ground up than to build it from the top down.

washington, d.c., cookie cutter style. i'd like to yield two minutes of my time to the gentlelady from illinois, mrs. biggert. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from illinois is recognized for two minutes. miss bigger -- mrs. biggert: i rise today to encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisan compromise to enact three of our top economic priorities. some people have said, well, we don't like the bundling, we don't like putting three bills together. pu i think this is -- but i think this is the art of compromise and this is the art of the possible. because all three of these bills are very important to all of us, i think, and to have this bipartisan way to do this, i think this is the way we should go. i started out with the flood insurance bill, and before we even had a bill, we did a draft so that every group could look at it, so that every member could look at it and be a part

of it and to have what they thought was necessary or to talk about what they didn't think was necessary so that we came up with a bill that came out of the financial services committee, my subcommittee, by voice vote. but out of the financial services committee last june 54-0. people said how did that happen? it happened because we got together and worked before we had really said vote for my bill. i think this is so important that we do this and get back together, to be able to work in a bipartisan way. and the gentlelady from california was my co-sponsor, and so -- and everybody joined together. so i think that it's really important and then the student loan bill is also my bill. so i really care about what's going on this morning.

and that we can really get together and pass these. and the transportation bill is so important to all of us. several of us in ill now -- in illinois had real concerns how the transit part of that bill was going to be in it and really wanted to do something like what the senate had done and include that in the trust fund. so i really thank the gentleman and i think that it took a lot of compromise on both sides of the aisle, but this agreement safeguards the things in all of the bills since it's suburban transit options and funds critical road and bridge projects. it's been a long time, but i encourage my colleagues to look at the big picture and lend this agreement their strong support. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings, is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, would you be kind enough to tell me the time remaining for both sides. >> mr. hastings, you have 13 1/2 minutes. and the gentleman from florida, mr. webster, has 18 3/4 minutes. mr. hastings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i'm very pleased at this time to yield four minutes to my good friend, the distinguished gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for four minutes. ms. jackson lee: let me thank the distinguished gentleman from florida for his courtesies and his friendship. we have known each other, and his service has been one of great commendation to the manager as well. we gathered here on the floor this morning. i want to acknowledge that the legislative process is not always pretty, but there are

lies embeded in this legislation today, and though i have kenches, i am more pointed toward this house doing things to improve the quality of life for americans who stand by the wayside and the highways of despair waiting for us to provide jobs, to improve the conditions of infrastructure and their lives. over the past two years we have seen tornadoes. we have even seen an earthquake here in washington, d.c. we have seen hurricanes on the coastline where i come from in texas and florida, just recently, terrible storm debby, hurricane debby has pierced the infrastructure and obviously this legislation points to some of those needs. as i stand here today, i do want to take note of a comment made by a person in the other body and suggest to general holder, attorney general holder, do not resign. we have better things to do than

to speak to a cabinet officer who has a commended public servant. i want to make sure that that does not occur. as i discuss this legislation, i think it is important to note several things. one, there are young people that are facing the uphill battle of getting a college education, now will have a refuge. i held a town hall meeting, and to hear the stories of 37,000, 50,000, $90,000 in debt that these young people have and they are first, second year, sophomores and juniors, or maybe the veteran who does not fall into the schedule of veterans' benefits with college, and that person has enormous amount of debt. i'm grafle we have frozen that interest ate -- grateful we have frozen that interest rate and should say that loudly to the students studying that america cares about them and this house

will care about them. i am concerned and i'm reading language that indgates -- indicates that while there's been significant progress regarding mwbe's, this bill has $15 billion in it for surface transportation highways, there is concern that we have not bet meth our goals to help small businesses and minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses and in actuality they have an outreach goal of 10%. do we realize there are some that are receiving federal funds that don't even meet that goal? i'm going to cite houston, metro, because i was proud to have this body provide $900 million to houston metro. but i'm disappointed in their lack of commitment to mwbe's. so this is an important statement and as i read the language it is adding women to this to create jobs and we want to work together. we don't want to be fighting against each other. but we create jobs and we help small businesses, and that is crucial. mass transit has been helped.

i want to note the job that president obama and democrats have been speaking of are now focused in this bill, because as we begin to fix the crumbling infrastructure and the $13 billion that we have committed to mass transit, the highways, to the construction of infrastructure, bridges that are crumbling, and those that have now been the subject of tornadoes as i indicated, hurricanes, deteriorating infrastructure can now be revitalized and rebuilt. so, mr. speaker, and to my colleagues, yes, i will be voting on this conference report and acknowledge the work that has been done, but more importantly, mr. speaker, to acknowledge that legislation sometimes when you have to pull things from people who are desperate, may not be a process that one says is the ordinary process. but i'd like -- i like the fact that ordinary people have done extraordinary things.

this is a extraordinary legislative initiative with its problems, but with $13 billion going to the people of the united states and protecting our young people and doing the business of the american people as opposed to other directions. i thank the speaker. i thank the manager for yielding this time. i hope that we will move forward in serving the american people. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized, mr. webster. mr. webster: thank you, mr. speaker. i would reserve my time. i could ask the gentleman how many speakers he has. mr. hastings: we certainly have two more, possibly three. but we are moving rapidly. mr. andrews, my good friend and colleague, pleased to yield two minutes to him, mr. andrews from new jersey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. mr. andrews: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. andrews: oy thank my friend for yielding -- i thank my friend for yielding. the seeds of this bipartisan agreement were sewn in the other

body three or four months ago. i frankly wish these agreements had been brought to this floor a lot sooner, it would have been a lot more good. but i'm glad these agreements are here today. this is a bill that will help create jobs in the transportation sector. it's overdue. . it's a bill that will avoid a bill which will avoid a dramatic doubling of the student a lot interest rates. i want to commend them regarding pension law that helps offset and pay for the provisions in this bill, because it, i believe, will represent a significant investment by businesses around the country and job creation and purchasing of equipment and capital goods. under the terms of the pension pay-for in this bill, american employers will have about $28 billion for the next year to

spend on something other than pension plan contributions. now, their pensions will be safe and secure, but this is $28 billion that will be available to these companies, private money, to hire people, to buy equipment, to invest in their companies and help their businesses grow. this is business as large as some of the major companies in our country and businesses that are quite small. so one of the reasons to support this legislation is in fact it includes for this year alone a $28 billion opportunity for the private sector to help put americans back to work. this is a good idea. it was advanced by both republicans and democrats in this body and the other body and i hope that we receive a yes vote for it here today. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from florida, mr. webster, reserves. the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings. mr. hastings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i am pleased at this time to yield to my good friend, the gentlewoman from california, ms. richardson, two minutes.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for two minutes. ms.: yes. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of the -- ms. richardson: yes. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of the conference report. among other things in the conference report, it makes key investments in our nation's infrastructure, critical to goods movement which is specifically very important to me in my district and the additional $500 million that's there for projects of national and regional significance. the conference report calls for also a national freight strategic plan, and it encourages states to develop state freight plans, to incentivize those states to invest in freight projects, policies and to make sure we can make progress in that area that's long avoided us. you know, mr. speaker, recent days some members have come down and expressed a desire for the federal government to adopt a national straight policy. as a member of the

transportation and infrastructure committee, representing the 37th congressional district, i represent a very intensive transportation district. and that's why last march i introduced a bill, h.r. 1122, the freight focus act. that particular legislation was supported very much across the aisle, including support of the american association of port authorities, the trucking association, operating engineers and many more. my freight focus act was to establish an office of freight planning within the office of the new assistant secretary, and many of those ideas have been incorporated. as we look forward at this bill, it's certainly not what we had hoped for. we hoped for maybe something like a five-year re-authorization would be helpful, but at this point, given our limitations of the key things i'd like to see us focus on is to ensure we have a strong freight plan. and i look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure that is implemented.

further, my legislation created goods movement, a trust fund. that's something that's not addressed in this legislation but should be considered as we go forward. as you can see, there are sound freight policies. i've been a leader of that and working with chairman mica and others, and i look forward to us bringing forward not only this bill but many more to come which will put americans back to work. i thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from florida, mr. webster. mr. webster: mr. speaker, i'm prepared to close and i reserve my time. mr. hastings: i am prepared to close. mr. speaker, it's a shame that we are here today considering this hodgepodge measure. for too long my republican colleagues have used this house to further their partisan agenda rather than the interest of the nation. so it's no surprise that once again we are rushing to the floor to take care of business that should have been taken care of months ago. time and again when given the

choice between reasonable bipartisan measures and blatantly partisan policies, republicans have chosen to pander to the extreme wing of their conference. they passed bills they know will be dead on arrival in the senate, pursued legislation with no hope of being signed into law and attached controversial measures to otherwise innocuous matters. while republicans are busy playing politics, americans have been wondering how they're going to get a job, put a roof over their head or afford to pay for college or food. though i'm glad these measures are finally being brought to the floor, our constituents deserve better. we didn't even on this measure, 600 pages, the dead of night last night, five measures put together under one, and we

received the c.b.o. score just a few minutes ago. most members in this body don't have any idea what's in this bill, how much it costs. this republican tactic of saying no to everything is dragging down our nation, slowing our recovery and threatening the survival of important and necessary government programs. theres serious work to do here in the house of representatives , and my and your constituents can't afford to sit around and watch this spectacle. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from florida, mr. webster, is recognized. mr. webster: mr. speaker, as i have said during the previous debate on short-term transportation extensions, our national infrastructure is aging, stable construction jobs are lacking, unemployment lingers about 8% nationally and a little over 9% in florida.

regrettably, that remains the case today. many short-term extensions later. however, unlike the past, the house and senate have come together to offer a glimmer of certainty to try to address these problems. a long-term multiyear highway re-authorization is critical to rebuilding our nation's infrastructure, reforming antiquated and inefficient transportation programs, strengthening our economy and creating jobs. a long-term authorization also provides for certainty and stability necessary for transportation industry to contain costs through long-term planning. this agreement, while not perfect, is long overdue. it will begin to chip away at the board of bureaucracy and defines -- which defines our federal transportation system. it will create jobs and it will promote economic activity in our local communities, all without adding to the deficit. for these reasons i ask my colleagues to join me in favor of this rule. i yield back the balance of my

time and i move the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. without objection, the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. all those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. hastings: mr. chairman, i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i now rise to a question of the privileges of the house and offer the resolution previously noticed. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: whereas the chair of the committee on oversight and government reform has

interfered with the work of an independent agency and pressured an administrative law judge of the national labor relations board by compelling the production of documents related to an ongoing case, something independent experts said could seriously undermine the authority of those charged with enforcing the nation's labor laws and which the house ethics manual discourages by noting it that federal courts have nullified administrative decisions on grounds of due process and fairness towards all of the purposes when congressional interference with ongoing administrative proceedings may have been duly -- unduly influenced the outcome. whereas the chair of the committee on oversight and government reform has politicized investigations by rolling back long standing bipartisan precedence including by authorizing subpoenas without the concurrence of the ranking member or a committee vote by refusing to share documents and other information with the ranking member and

restricting the minority's right to call witnesses at hearings. whereas the chair of the committee on oversight and government reform has jeopardized an ongoing criminal investigation byly releasing documents that his -- by publicly releasing documents that were court sealed. whereas the chair of the committee on oversight and government reform has unilatly suspend a -- unilaterally subpoenaed a witness despite long-standing precedence and objections by the department of justice that such steps could jeopardize a criminal conviction. whereas the chair of the committee on oversight and government reform has engaged in a witch-hunt through the use of repeated and incorrect and uncrab rated statements in the fast and furious investigation. and whereas the chair of the committee on oversight and government reform has chosen to call the attorney general of the united states a liar on

national television without crub rating evidence -- corroborating evidence and has exhibited unprofessional behavior i would could jeopardize an ongoing committee investigation into operation fast and furious. now, therefore be it resolved that the house of representatives disapproves of the behavior of the chair for interfering with ongoing criminal investigations, insisting on a personal attack against the attorney general of the united states and for calling the attorney general of the united states a lir on national television without corroborating evidence thereby discrediting the integrity of the house. the speaker pro tempore: the resolution qualifies. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. webster. mr. webster: mr. speaker, i move to lay the resolution on the table. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on moving the resolution on the table. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the motion is not adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider -- the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays have now been requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 and rule 20, this 15-minute vote on the motion to table will be followed by a five-minute vote on the adoption of the house resolution 717. this will be a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 251 nays. 181 nays. the motion is laid on the table. the unfinished business is on the vote on the adoption of house resolution 717 on which

the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 142. house resolution 717. resolution providing for consideration of the bill h.r. 5856, making appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2013 and for other purposes, providing for consideration of the bill h.r. 6020, making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2013 and for other purposes, and providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany the bill h.r. 4348, to provide extension of federal aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit and other programs funded out of the highway trust fund pending enactment of a multiyear law re-authorizing such programs and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on adoption of the resolution. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning

institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 244. the nays are 176. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. mica: mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 717, i call up the conference report on the

bill h.r. 4348, to authorize funds for federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes. mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. -- the gentleman is correct. the house will be in order. the gentleman may proceed. mr. mica: -- the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 438, an act to provide extension of federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the highway trust fund pending enactment of the multiyear law re-authorizing such programs and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 717, the conference report is considered as read. the gentleman from florida, mr.

mica, and the gentleman from west virginia, mr. rahall, each will control 30 minutes. the chair will now recognize the gentleman from florida. mr. mica: first, mr. speaker, i would ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the conference report to accompany h.r. 4348. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mica: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mica: thank you. mr. speaker, my colleagues -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the gentleman may proceed. mr. mica: mr. speaker, and my colleagues, it has indeed been a very bumpy road to get to this point where we could pass

transportation -- a transportation bill. first i have to thank my colleagues. i want to particularly thank the speaker of the house of representatives who stuck by me, who insisted that we pass this legislation, that we work together in the best interest of the people of the united states, particularly in a time when people have lost their jobs, particularly at a time where the construction industry is at its lowest point in probably our history, and particularly at a time when it's important for congress to act, not just to talk about problems that we have, but to get things done in the best interest of the people of the united states. so i want to thank first the speaker. i want to thank my colleagues who have participated.

i want to thank staff who's been up almost nonstop for two weeks day and night trying to help wrap this up. i'm not particularly pleased with some of the twists and turns. let me say first of all, my predecessor, mr. oberstar, i regret that he was not able to achieve what we have achieved. he was under mind, unfortunately, by this administration, to pass a bill. i tried to help him to pass a bill. not for partisan reasons or political reasons, but again for the people that we represent in trying to get this country, the economy moving forward. we had to pass six extensions. i was forced to pass three. but we are here today because so many people worked so hard.

one of the funniest things tsh -- that happened to me during the passage of this bill, you know people have been tough on me during this process, is i came to the floor one morning after particularly tough time and a staffer looked at me and said, mr. mica, he says, your shirt is awfully clean. he looked at my shirt. he said your shirt is awfully clean. i said what do you mean? he said for someone that's been thrown under the bus so many times, you don't have many tire tracks on you. one of the light moments in this process. but you know what you have to do is when they throw you under the bus you get up, you right yourself, you dust yourself off, and then you gain even more determination to win and get the job done. that's what we are doing today. today we are passing a bill,

again, that the other side couldn't pass where they had complete control of the white house, the senate, and the house of representatives. we are passing today, ironically, in the week that they passed the first transportation bill in congress and it was signed into law back in june of 1956. this isn't the bill exactly i would like, but this is the bill that first of all has the most historic reforms in the -- in the federal participation in transportation programs in its history since its adoption back in 1956. those reforms are included in dramatic changes, consolidation of some of the programs that mushroomed. nobody does anything about reining in the size of government. this bill does something about

that. this bill takes the plea that we heard from beckley, west virginia, to the west coast frrks sea to shining sea in an unprecedented number of hearings across the country, people said the whole paperwork process, red tape of federal government involved in transportation projects has to be changed. and we change it here for the first time historically. dramatically reducing the time that it takes to permit and go forward with the project. dramatically reducing the cost. dramatically reducing the mandates, increasing the flexibility for local government. so we have a streamlining process unprecedented. this wasn't easy to do. because by previous chairman, and one of them at least is here, they had a little thing called earmarks. in fact the last bill had 6,300 earmarks. you see my hands? they are behind my back. i don't have them tied, but i

didn't have the ability to pass out earmarks and the other little goodies in this bill. instead we had to focus on policy. and this is good policy. this is good policy for transportation safety. this is a good policy for, again, reforms and it's good policy for moving forward, projects across the country, and putting people to work. shovel ready will no longer be a joke. the administration when they tried with stimulus dollars to throw that money out there, 35% was left in the federal treasury 2 1/2 years after we passed the bill, because shovel ready, even made the president and others, cringe at the thought of how federal red tape and paperwork stops projects in their

progress. those are some of the reforms. i'm grateful again for all that helped us move in a positive bipartisan direction. want to compliment senator boxer. she and i are probably like oil and water when it comes to political philosophy, but we joined together like everyone should do to get the people's work done and to get people working in the united states and pass this long overdue legislation. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from west virginia, mr. rahall, is recognized. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rahall: as with the health care and aftermath of yesterday's landmark supreme court decision, it's now time to move forward. and put the divisiveness which has plagued the enactment of the surface transportation re-authorization bill for the first time in decades behind us and coalis in support of the pending conference agreement. this bill makes a sound

investment in america. 56 years ago a democratic congress and a republican president came together and on this day in 1956 president dwight eisenhower signed into law the federal aid to highway act, which established the interstate system of highways. this historic piece of legislation created a transportation system in this country that awed the world. yet in recent decades our roads, bridges, trains, and transit systems have slipped into decline because we have failed to make the necessary investments to improve the condition and performance of this network. the pending legislation will not completely, will not completely reverse the course of this decline, but at the very least states will see no reduction in infrastructure investment funding that they desperately need to tackle crumbling roadways, and secure rail highway grade crossings. the states and transportation contractors will have the ability to count on a stable source of funding through fiscal year 2014, sustaining and creating jobs, and enhancing the

ability and safety of american motorists. critical investments in transit will continue. reducing traffic congestion and alternative means of transportation will continue to be a valued enterprise in which to invest, increasing the quality of life and health of the american people. to be sure, mr. speaker, there are glaring shortcomings. the transit prifings provisions threaten service -- privatization provisions threaten service, not enhance it. the buy american provision is lethargic compared to the bold and decisive strokes that i had advocated. the man kate to install black boxes on commercial motor vehicles will come at great cost to struggling independent businesspeople without any proven safety benefits. there is an ill-advised provision that has no business in this legislation which charms our maritime industry by weakening our cargo preference laws. when all is said and done, though, this bill is what it is, as with so much legislative --

legislation in this body, this conference agreement, this one in particular, means jobs. and it means we will not have further layoffs. it means we'll continue to improve our economy. when all is said and done i would choose to vote for american jobs anyway. mr. speaker, before reserving the balance of my time i ask unanimous consent that time on this side be managed by mr. defazio of oregon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rahall: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon will control the time. mr. mica: i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the gentleman from tennessee who chairs the wonderful job of the highway and leading the highway subcommittee, mr. duncan, the gentleman from tennessee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for three minutes. mr. duncan: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of the conference report on h.r. 4348, the surface transportation re-authorization bill 2012. i first want to salute chairman mica for the tremendous job he has done in bringing this bill

to the floor today. and i want to thank him for allowing me to serve as chairman of the highways and transit subcommittee. this monumental reform package will be considered the signature jobs bill for the 112th congress. i'm pleased to have been a conferee on the negotiations of the conference report. states will have over two years of funding certainty with no tax increases by providing long-term funding stability to states, major projects will be able to move forward to help create jobs and make much needed repairs to our nation's critical transportation infrastructure. these are jobs, mr. speaker, that will not be outsourced to china or elsewhere. traffic congestion cost the u.s. economy approximately over $100 billional year. with congestion expected to increase offer the next decade and beyond, the job creation from this bill will help reduce congestion costs and boost the economy. this conference report contains no earmarks. funding is based on formulas

which go directly to state departments of transportation which will prioritize the highway and transit projects that are the most needed and most important in their state. the number of federal programs has been greatly reduced which will give the states greater flexibility on how they spend their limited federal resources. . it doubles the highway safety improvement program, which will save lives. a more robust highway safety improvement program will help continue the downward trend of highway fatalities and serious injuries we have seen in the last several years. the house included several streamlining provisions that will have a dramatic effect on the delivery process. they will be given deadlines to review burdensome requirements and requires concurrent rather than consecutive project reviews. projects in the footprint of an existing highway will not be

required to go through the process. according to the last study to of the federal highway admgs, the highway delivery process can take up to 15 years from proposal to completion. this will cut the time in half and save taxpayers money. it also includes government bureaucracy and red tape for small business that would have severely hurt the boltle to line. we were successful in removing most of these over-burdensome regulations. this is the most conservative highway bill ever brought -- both from a fiscal standpoint and from a policy standpoint. and i would especially like to praise the staff that's work sod hard, led by jim tieman one of the most competent and capable people this house has ever had from a staff standpoint. i look forward to passing this

reform build and putting americans back to work. i urge passage of the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oregon. mr. -- mr. defazio: this is not enough. the united states of america, 10 years ago, was rated as having the fifth best transportation infrastructure in the world. not great but not that bad. today, we are 25th in the world. 25th. most third world countries are spending a much larger percentage of their grose domestic product on highway

infrastructure. the eisenhower legacy is crumble. 40% of the pavement on the national highway system needs to be redone, not just surfaced. we have a $70 billion back log in transit and we have buy america rules that guarantees that all those items that go into those jobs would be kept here at home. we did not get to that point with this bill. this is essentially a little decline from what we just spent last year on transportation infrastructure and what we spent last year, according to two blue ribbon panels commissioned in the bush administration is half of what we need to bring this up to a world class system. build a 2 st century transportation system. this minnesota in this bill for 27 months will be enough to put a few more band-aids on the 20th century and the 19th century infrastructure in some places that we are still

utilizing. it builds on the ideas that chairman oberstar and i offered two years ago to dramatically consolidate the bureaucracy downtown. we don't need to be spending money on 106 different programs that are so complicated that no one know house to amy and how to amy the rules and all that. that's good. it does some streamlining to projects get done more quickly. there are a number of sal crewer to aspects to this bill. we need to do better by the american people next time we address this issue. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee. >> i'd like to recognize a former chairman of our committee a great member of this body, the gentleman from alaska, mr. young. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. young: thank you. madam chair, members of the body, i want to congratulate the staff primarily.

we mentioned some of them before. the work they put in in this bill is awesome when they're dealing with the dark side. you did such a good job of getting thins done that we tied to get done in h r. 7. and i will agree with the gentleman from oregon, about the future. we have not done in this body because the public still does not believe we need to do what should be done. that is to pay for the infrastructure through a system that's fair to everyone and quit thinking there's a magic wand. to get this job done, to build our infrastructure, as it should be. we are declining each year. i'd like to thank the chairman also, mr. mica, he's absolutely right. i was chairman, we had a $289 billion bill, five-year bill, it's been in place eight years and i'm quite proud of tea-lu.

but the chairman has his hands tied because we have not retained what i think is the constitutional right of every congressman, direct money in directions they know best for without costing the budget one undime. now we've transfered this money to the state department of transportation and i think that's really a wrong way to do it. they're not elected, they don't know what's best for a state. but mr. mica did an outstanding job, mr. duncan did an outstanding job and the staff did an outstanding job to make really a small silk purse out of a sow's ear. now we have to go forth and do another legislative bill in the very near future and explain it to the public, you don't like those potholes, you don't like that wobbly bridge, you better support the concept of a user's fee or some way to raise the money because you won't take it out of the general fund. we have to do this for america if you want a sound economy.

our economy is bhaced on nrnl and the ability to move products to and from. if you don't do that, you don't have the america i know. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon. mr. defazio: i yield one minute to the gentleman from iowa. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, to all of you. we've got more to to -- to do, it's just sad. we've got this control box you're going to call it, the black box, the recorder, it's going to be in all trucks. the mexican trucks get their paid for. this happens to be a commercial driver's license, i don't know how many of you got one, if toupt see one, come look at it sometime. it's a little doing to get one.

mr. boswell: owner-operators have to pay for their own. they're making $50,000, $60,000 a year. if they're doing a good operation. they're doing a good job, keeping commerce moving. we ought to give those middle class, hardworking, patriotic americans consideration they deserve. but i'm glad we got the bill, i'll go out and work with you, all of you, to try to get more done but we've got a good first step. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. objection. the gentleman from florida. >> madam speaker, i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the distinguished chair of the science, technology, space committee mr. hall.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman veckmiesed for three minutes. mr. hall: i rise in support of the conference report, accompanying h.r. 4348, a bicameral effort that provides states flexibility and eliminates duplication of effort. i want to thank chairman mica for his leadership and for his outstanding work in negotiating a strong re-authorization. the conferees has ensured ha that hardworking taxpayers' dollars are being wrused more fesketively and efficiently. chairman mica visited most areas in this country. at a time when we were at home in our district, he could have been at home in his district but he was soaking -- seeking out the way to have the greatest good for the great etc. number he worked hard in it. i don't believe in my 32 years here i've seen a chairman work so hard to get a bill that was very difficult to start with. at the outset of the conference, many of us committed to ensuring the

transportation and restoration funding is used as it's intended purpose. as chairman of this house committee on science, space, and technology, i'm pleased that the transportation research pams and the authorization are focused on enhancing safety, reducing condition jeston and improving quality in the transportation system. re-authorization before us provides, among other things, greater flexibility to keep research programs focused and eliminates a number of unnecessary programs. the inclusion of language con teared in the restore act illustrate ours commitment to the revitalization of those areas harmed by the deepwater horizon oil spill. the ability for the gulf states to dedicate funding to reach their development and undertaking projects and programs using the best available science sures the areas most impacted will benefit. i would also like to thank my colleague, mr. cravaack, who worked hard to protect the

interest hoifs constituents in minnesota and he was committed to ensuring we come away with a strong research title. i believe we've done that finally i'd like to thank the speaker for the opportunity to work with the senate to complete a conference report that will provide more certainty to the states and localities for infrastructure planning purposes. i believe this bill help -- will help create jobs for the american people which is vital in a troubled economy. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i'm happy to yield two minutes at this time to the distinguished ranking member on the education work force committee, mr. scrorge miller who has jurisdiction over the student loan section of this. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. miller: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend -- to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. miller: without this, transportation projects would dry up, countless americans would be thrown out of work and a chemoeducation would cost an

additional -- several thousand dollars for american students and their family. in my home state of california this will save or create 180,000 construction jobs rebuilding our bridges, highways and bike paths. and it will save thousands of california students from going deep for the debt this next academic year. seven million students across the country get another year of interest rate relief as they take out their student loaners in coming college year. more than 4.5 million of those will be women, more than 1.5 million will be african-american, nearly one million are hispanic students, all of whom are struggling to stay in college this interest rate relief we're providing today will help them. what is happening today, though, is a rare thing in this congress. it's a victory for college students, for low-income families, it's a victory for middle class, it's a victory that should not be as rare as it is in the congress today this eamerican people should make this win and we should

make sure we continue to cooperate in this congress and make sure we heed the words of mr. young and mr. defazio that we have to do more on our train structure to make this a first rate country going forward. thank you, mr. rahall, for all your work on this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. plaintiff mica: i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from alabama, mr. rush. -- mr. bachus. mr. bachus: let me thank you for your work in this matter. i want to associate myself with the words of don young, our former chairman, and of mr. miller from california.

you cannot have the leading country in the world cannot have a third world infrastructure. unless we find new funding sors, we'll continue to fall behind and we'll continue to have those potholes and bottlenecks. now, i want to move to the national flood insurance program, which is a part of this bill. it also is a win for the american people. this house over a year ago approved comprehensive flood insurance, risk-based that would reduce the cost and bring many benefits to the program. we now, last week, the senate sent us a bill which is essentially the bill we sent them over a year ago. it's a bipartisan bill that, it was a lot of hard work and input from all the members. we passed it overwhelmingly in the financial services committee -- and the -- and

overwhelmingly on the floor of this house. i would like to commend chairman biggert for her fine work, her name is on this bill and there's a reason for that. she has worked harder than anyone in this congress to deliver a good bill. it's a five-year bill. and it will begin to make up for the deficit of $17 ppt 5 billion that this program has -- of $17.5 billion that this program has as a result of the hurricanes back in 2005. i'd like to commend the illinois delegation and the california delegation under mr. shimkus and mr. costello who sadly, is retiring this year. this bill takes care of balances -- takes care, balances the bill between costs and communities who use their own fund. i yield back any time i have remaining and under urge the members to pass this bill. it's a good bill, includes many good provisions and i'm proud to say that the financial

services committee and its members have been part of this process. thank you. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i'm happy to yield one minute to the gentlelady from the district of columbia, eleanor holmes norton. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman the district of columbia is recognized for one minute. ms. norton: i thank chairman mica and ranking member rahall for working together on this bill. this transportation bill could be named the jobs act of 2012 because it is the only bill of the 112th congress that will create significant number of jobs. a word on a couple of significant provisions. seldom has a pioneering landmark bill found its way to a transportation re-authorization bill, but here we find the first bill to set national standards for subway safety, bringing subways in line with all other modes of transportation which have long had national standards. this is probably the most significant provision of this

bill. finally, the d.b.e. language is tailored to assure the government is equipped with the tools to meet the compelling need for the government to meet its responsibility to continue to address discrimination in small business contracting. with all its shortcomings, and there are many, the american people finally will have a jobs bill from this congress. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. mica: madam speaker, i'm pleased to yield 2 1/2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from pennsylvania, chair of the rail subcommittee, one of the leaders of our committee, mr. shuster. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for 2 1/2 minutes. mr. shuster: i thank the speaker and thank the chairman for yielding me time. first want to thank the chairman, chairman mica, and chairman duncan for their hard work in producing what i believe is a very solid bill that has historic reforms in it. the chairman negotiated -- was a

tight negotiator and came away with something we can all be proud of. we need to act on this bill. if we don't act, if we fail to act, the trust fund will be default. we'd have to figure out a way to bail it out, here we are with a two-year bill that's fully funded and has some significant reforms on. those reforms include first of all, it's a two-year bill which will put certainty out there to the states and the people -- the companies that hire people and build roads and highways and supply them with the product that they need. that's extremely important. second, it consolidates nearly 2/3 of the programs which is important in reducing red tape. and the streamlining project deliverry. that is significant. we believe it can reduce the amount of time to build a significant highway project in half. that's tremendous savings. when you just look at a project i recently visited in oklahoma city, $680 million job, took 15 years. if you cut that in half you save somewhere between $60 million and $80 million just on the

inflation alone. that's significant savings. that's why i believe this bill has got great reforms in it. it's something we all need to get behind and pass. i congratulate the chairman for his great work and the staff on the committee, both sides of the aisle, both sides of the capitol. worked hard, but special thanks to jim and amy, jennifer and jim for their tireless efforts. a lot of late nights but they did a great job and we owe them a great deal of thanks. again i encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: madam speaker, i'm happy to yield to another valued conferee on our side, the gentleman from new york, mr. nadlerks one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. mr. nadler: thank you, mr. speaker. -- madam speaker, i rise in support of the transportation re-authorization conference report with mixed feelings. the conference report provides $105 billion over the next 27 months for highway and transit programs and will put about two

million people to work at a time when we desperately need jobs. these funding levels are a great improvement from the original house bill and will allow transportation agencies to plan and construct projects important to the economy. the conference report also prevents student loan interest rates from doubling which is critical to more than seven million students. the transit funding formulas are focused on areas with the highest need and provide essential resources for the n.t.a. to make -- m.t.a. to make great repair. also unfortunately the transportation enhancement program which includes bicycle, pedestrian safe routes to schools is reduced by $700 million and the account which provides for essential freight projects is substantially watered-down. although the 270-day deeming provision is in longer in the bill, there are other environmental streamlining provisions of concern such as

the expense of nepa within an existing right ofway. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. nadler: the final package is a combination of hard fought victories and losses. overall this legislation is essential for creating jobs, preventing interest rates from increasing for millions of students, and putting us on a path to economic recovery. therefore i urge my colleagues to support this conference report. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. mica: madam speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to one of the distinguished leaders in the house, the gentlelady from illinois, who had a great deal to do with the flood insurance provision, worked tirelessly, miss biggers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. mrs. biggert: thank you, mr. chairman, for giving me this time. madam speaker, i rise in support of this conference -- conference report and wish to address the

title 2 which would re-authorize for five years the national flood insurance program or nsip. there are six important reforms included in this bill t improves nsip's financial stability, the burden on taxpayers, restores integrity to the fema mapping system, it will help bring certainty to the housing market through a five-year re-authorization, and last, it explores ways to increase private market participation. many of us in congress would like the private sector instead of taxpayers to shoulder the risk of the national flood insurance program. market participants have said they can't assume the risk of flood insurance and with the appropriate data from fema the reinsurance industry has indicated within weeks it can price this risk. for the first time in the nfip existence, the flood reform measure will require fema to solicit bids to determine the cost to the private sector not to the taxpayer or bear the risk

of insurance. finally i'd like to say that this bill is proofed that bipartisanship is possible, particularly when it comes to an issue of national significance such as the most frequently occurring national disaster in the united states, flooding. when a flood occurs it does not choose an area that has republican or democrat leans or just the fact elected officials. flood insurance affects most -- flood affects most of the country and people of all walks of life. today's flood reform measure demonstrates that the democratic process where reforms are publicly vetted reflect input from interested stakeholders and are realized. let me just thank the bill's co-sponsor, ms. waters, as well as chairman bachus, full committee staff on both sides of the aisle. with that let me just say also

that i'd like to thank the senate and house leadership including speaker boehner and leader cantor, as well as the thousands of constituents and groups who gave their valuable time and input to this very good bill. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: madam speaker, i'm happy to yield two minutes to the distinguished ranking member on our railroad subcommittee and a valued member of our conference, the gentlelady from florida, miss corrine brown. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida is recognized for two minutes. ms. brown: i had much higher hopes for this transportation re-authorization bill and long for the days our committee worked together in a bipartisan manner. this is a good day for the traveling public and american economy. this transportation bill will strengthen our infrastructure, provide quality jobs, and serve as a tool to put american people back to work. although i would have preferred a long-term bill with much more funding for infrastructure, and i am disappointed we did not

include a rail other give our local transit agents the flexibility they asked for during these economic times, this bill will give states, local government, and others transportation stakeholders some stability to plan and build critical transportation projects. this bill provides steady funding for both highway and transit programs, maintain the -- speed up the permitting process, include important safety measures, and will save lives and maintain osha oversight of hazmat material. i'm also pleased that this legislation includes the restart act that will help states like my state of florida recover and prevent oil spills for an economy based on tourism and this would be destroyed overnight if the oil spill reaches our beach. this isn't a perfect bill but i am going to vote for it. i want to thank the senate and i

want to thank senator boxer, mr. mica, and mr. rahall, and all for working together. my understanding that this is a clean bill and we can vote for it. no riders are included. my understanding. i will vote for it and i will recommend my colleagues to vote for it, too. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. mica: madam speaker, i'm pleased to yield a minute and a half to one of the leaders of transportation, new to the committee, but conferee did an outstanding job, the gentleman from indiana, mr. bucshon. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. bucshon: thank you, madam speaker, as a member of the house transportation conference committee, i join my colleagues in proudly supporting this legislation. my house colleagues and i attended many of the conference negotiations and we fought hard for commonsense transportation reforms. this bill streamlines the

environmental review process, consolidates and eliminates duplicative programs, and provides more flexibility to the states. passing this legislation will provide job security for millions of americans. i'm grateful to my house and senate colleagues that stood with me in opposing an amendment that was in the senate bill. this amendment unfairly punished the state of indiana for pursuing a public-private partnership. not only would it have cost indiana millions in transportation funding, but it would have set our country backwards in innovative transportation policy. this type of thinking is not where we need to be headed in transportation policy. we need to put taxpayers first and continue to engage the private sector in transportation projects. i would like to thank the house and senate staff who have been working tirelessly on the legislation. i thank chairman mica, senator boxer, and senator inhofe for their leadership on this issue. thanks to everybody's hard work,

25,000 hoosiers will have job security for the next two years. i urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. let's put millions of americans back to work. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: madam speaker, i'm happy to yield two minutes to the distinguished ranking member of the government oversight committee, the gentleman from maryland, mr. cummings. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized tore two minutes. mr. cummings: thank you, ranking member rahall, thank you for your leadership. i also thank chairman mica and all of my colleagues. this bill provides certainty for our states, but overall funding for highways is reduced relative to fiscal year 2011. to ensure our nation's ability, we need expanded investments in all modes. critically this bill finds a discrimination and related barriers continue to pose obstacles for minority and women-owned businesses in the sprorgs industry. my colleagues and i considered the extensive evidence provided to us in testimony in the

transportation committee and detailed disparate studies documenting ongoing discrimination and transportation contracting. i concluded there is a compelling national interest in re-authorizing our programs. i thank senator boxer for her leadership on this issue. that said i'm disappointed that house democrats' participation in the conference was so limited. as i have had the chance to review the final report, several of its provisions deeply concern me. perhaps none more so than sex 100-112 which would reduce by 1/3 of% of food aid shipped on u.s. vessels. there are fewer than 100 u.s. flag vessels in foreign trade now, and they carry less than 2% of the -- of u.s. cargos, without the cargo preference programs, we would have no domestic merchant marine, leaving our military and economy completely dependent on foreign vessels. the effects of section 100-124

would be to speed the continuing decline of our fleet. it should never have been included in this bill, and it should be immediately repealed. with that i am going to support the bill and urge my colleagues to support it and i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. mica: i'm going to yield two minutes to mrs. capito. she's going to explain what brings her here. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for two minutes. mrs. capito: thank you, ma tam chair -- madam speaker, and mr. chairman. this will bring efficiencies to our funding stream for important projects and remove a

lot of uncertainty. as a member of the committee i'm pleased that we were able to come to a compromise. the efficiencies and streamlining, when the chairman brought the committee to the airport, that was one of the resounding complaints about funding, it takes too long, it's too expensive, time summon. we can do a lot better job with more efficiencies. with hard deadlines and some exemses i think that this bill will do that. there are a couple of provisions that i regret were not included, most specifically the provision on the coal ash provision. we're looking at a time where we have scant resources. we have to make smart decisions about how to weigh the balance between our economy and our environment. the coal ash provision would have provided certainty to the construction industry and those surrounding also the coal industry that smart use and responsible use of coal ash

would be in our future. unfortunately, and i believe it occurred in the senate, that that provision was not included in our bill and i'm deeply i disappointed by that but we will as an energy state and energy representative, we'll live to fight another day. additionally, i would like to say as a member of the financial services committee, as well, that the reason the flood bill is on this bill is extremely important to lend a certainty to lenders, realtors, home builders and really the consumer that we can get that housing market moving again and the certainty provided by the re-authorization of the flood bill in here will provide us with that. i simply want to say that i think that in the bicameral, bipartisan way we move together to show people in west virginia and across the nation that we can work together to create the jobs we need and the sectors we need. i look forward to supporting the bill. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: madam speaker, i'm

happy to yield one minute to the gentlelady from california, ms. maxine waters who has our jurisdiction over the flood insurance portion. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. waters: i'm pleased that we could work in a bipartisan fashion to not only extend our expiring transportation student loan interest program but also to reform the federal flood insurance program. i'd like to thank representative judy biggert for her leadership and commitment to reforming flood insurance. representative biggert and i work together to meet the needs of our respective caucus and the result is a bill that puts the flood insurance program on a solid foolting. the flood insurance program provides insurance for over five million americans. however due to massive losses from hurricane katrina and an inefficient mapping subpoena, the flood insurance program has faced challenges in serving homeowners and taxpayers.

the biggert-waters bill will re-authorize the national flood insurance program for five years and make critical improvements to the flood insurance program. the reforms in this bill will make flood insurance more affordable, give communities more input into flood maps and strengthen the financial position of the flood insurance program. with that, i would urge an aye vote and i thank you and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. mica: i'm pleased to yield one and a half minutes to another conferee, a young leader in the transportation-infrastructure committee, ms. herrera beutler from washington. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one and a half minutes. ms. herrera beutler: thank you, chirme mica and i'd like to thank you and your staff for working tirelessly on this issue. members have been working around the -- members and staff

have been working around the clock to produce something that has direct impact on the folks i serve in southwest washington. i'm well aware of the perception that this congress is having difficulty getting things done and i fought for us to stay at the table to keep working to push through for solutions to demonstrate our ability to put americans' needs ahead of politics. and today, mr. speaker, madam speaker, we were successful. particularly folks in my home district in southwest washington state are excited that the house fought for vital reforms that are going to allow us to cut project delivery times down, even by half in some instances. dollars will go further, more projects will get done and more money will be available for additional projects. that sets us up for more jobs. we're also giving rural communities the necessary support to fund schools, emergency services and roads while we come up with a more permanent solution to allow for

increaseed and better forest management. my thanks to the committee for their work on this issue. we also have the recreational trails program that benefits trail riders, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts in my district. we support using the harbor trust fund for its intended purpose, improving waterways that are arteries in washington and other areas. this bill is not perfect, no bill is, however, it's a symbol of how congress is supposed to operate and why we're here. i urge its passage and thank you for your time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i yield one minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania, valued member of the committee. mr. altmire: it's been seven years since the congress

enacted a long-term authorization and since that expired in 2009, state transportation agencies across america have had to deal with the uncertainty of looming funding expirations, construction workers have not known whether there would be jobs available to them, and motorists, retailers and manufacturers have watched our infrastructure continue to crumble as this body continually failed to act. we cannot wait any longer. thas why i'm pleased that congress will provise a re-authorization that will provide the certainty that's been lacking for years. i'm also pleased it includes a prsigs -- provision i authored to make it safer for older drivers. by making older drivers travel as safe as possible, we increase road safety for every american. this is an example of the success congress can achieve when we work together. i thank my colleagues for their dedication to you are onation's

infrastructure and i'm proud to support this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. mica: i'd like to inquire how much time remains on both sides. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida has five minutes remain, the gentleman from west virginia has 14 1/2 minutes remaining. the speaker pro tempore: i -- mr. mica: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman ve serving his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. mica: well, madam speaker, if i'm correct, i think i can close, i get the opportunity to close, so the gentleman from west virginia can continue to reserve but that can't go on indefinitely. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman from west virginia have additional speakers? mr. mica: no. may i ask for a repeat of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia has 14 1/2 minutes, the gentleman from florida has five. mr. rahall: i'm ready to close.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia is recognized for up to 14 1/2 minutes. mr. rahall: thank you, madam speaker. first i want to extend my deep appreciation to all conferees on this legislation, some 47, i believe, i'd like to pay particular word of commendation to the chair of the conference committee, the gentlelady from california, senator bar rah -- barbara boxer. she worked extremely hard on this legislation, she worked tirelessly to resist many, many, many extreme proposals that were lobbed at her by republican house conferees, she worked to ensure that policies and investment levels of this legislation will serve america. and she did work in a bipartisan fashion. i'd also like to thank my counterpart and the chair of our house transportation and infrastructure committee, mr. mica, for his leadership.

he has already spoken and has many times of the bipartisan nature we started this journey in my hometown of beck lee, west virginia. i deeply appreciate the hearings he started there and his outreach across the country. as this hard road progressed, there were some diversions along the way. there were efforts to side track what we were trying to do and provide -- in providing long-term funding for the nation's infrastructure, yet we're here today to hail, not the perfect bill, we've heard that many times in this body, we're not considering the perfect bill, but we are out of necessity finding ourselves working together to extend our transportation programs so that millions more of american workers are not laid off the job. i also want to thank my senior senator jay rockefeller, the

chairman of the senate commerce committee for his great contribution to this pending measure. again, efforts were fought, efforts on his part prevented further degradation of safety measures proposed in this conference agreement. weave strong measure in regards to safety issues. thanks to senator rockefeller. this legislation will preserve american jobs. as i said in the opening of this conference committee, it's time that we quit taking those political jabs at one another and provide jobs for our people. and that's what we're doing in this legislation. the contracting season is late, especially in many of our northern states and our contractors need this legislation in order to have the certainty to sign those contracts to put americans to work this summer repairing our infrastructure. we put aside, i guess, our hard

heads, which i'm happy to say, in exchange for hard hats, doing the work necessary to get our economy back on. and as with any piece of legislation, we've compromised in this bill, both sides have, or i should say all sides have, that's part of the legislative process, i've always said that. and there's some things in this bill we don't like, some things we like. there are probably 435 different way this is bill could have been written, if each of us had our own way to write a bill. but that's not the way the process works. and the process being what it is, we are where we are today and so i'm here to support the pending legislation. as i sit down, i want to also thank the staff for their hard work on both the majority in the house and the minority side on our side and the staff on both sides of the other body as well. i want to thank our conferees

on the house side, peter defazio, jerry costello, eleanor holmes norton, jerrold nadler, leonard boswell, tim bishop. these individuals stuck with us every part of the way and they were truly -- had their hearts in improving our infrastructure and providing jobs for america. this is a jobs bill, i'm happy to support it and i urge my colleagues to support this conference agreement. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. mica: i yield myself the balance of my too -- my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. mica: good to be at this point in the completion of a long-overdue major transportation reform bill for the congress and for the american people. first, i'll take a moment and thank our staff, jim tieman who is necks to me here, tireless

staff director of the highway subcommittee, day and night, helping to sort out things, looking out for the people and making certain this bill had the very best provisions. dan, jeff stroback, joy miller, fred miller, steve martinka, justin, he's my press secretary or assistant, he's always had to explain what i've said, or at least clarify. jason rosa, my sidekick clint hines who has fought me on the floor with so many member requests. jennifer, our outstanding legal counsel, amy smith, some real firepower for good policy for the country and for transportation for the nation

and then our untiring leader of the committee, jim koon, our staff director, who day and night neglected his beautiful family for the good of this country. and we even retired jimmy miller in this process, he served for many, many years, he retired in the process, hopefully not as a result of all the hard work. but a great american. stephanie, who was on our team for a while, former secretary of transportation from florida she organized the secretaries around the united states, i think the forward-thinking ones, to help us go through the laws and all the mess we've created and red line it, get rid of the bureaucracy, the duplication, the costly red tape, so our hats are off to all of them and so many more

and all our distinguished colleagues who were conferees who worked, we actually engaged members in discussion, a new approach to a conference committee, but we did that and i'm sorry that the other side was thrown under the bus some by the administration. particularly mr. oberstar who i feel so bad because he waited so long and could never see this day and then again in the process we did not draft the legislation, ms. boxer's staff did, so again, there was anyone who felt they didn't participate enough, i tried not to be responsible for that approach, having started, as i said, the first hearing in beckley, west virginia, mr. rahall's hometown, going all the way to the west coast, to have an unprecedented, historic, bipartisan, bicameral hearing in california. .

with barbara boxer who chaired the conference committee. so this is where we are. tomorrow would actually close down thousands of transportation projects, departments of transportation around the country were on the verge of actually giving sort of i.o.u.'s or giving notification to close down. probably millions would have been put out of work if we hadn't acted. this is very important for the american people, particularly at this time when we are on the cusp. we don't know which way the economy is going to go, but it has to go forward. there's some things in here that are also great. the restore act, student loans. our students will benefit. the national flood insurance. people in my state and others will see reductions. transportation safety was paramount. consolidation of some of the programs. streamlining, cutting red tape. we were able to do more with less and move transportation for

the nation forward. again i thank everyone for their cooperation. pleased that we have reached this point. it doesn't have everything. a lot of people said it couldn't be done. and as my son often says, i'll close with this, his remarks, he likes the cable guy, he says, dad, git r don. the speaker pro tempore: all time for debate has expired. pursuant to house resolution 717, the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the conference report. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the conference report is adopted. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i ask the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman requests the yeas and nays. the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise.

a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on the question will be postponed. pursuant to house resolution 697 -- for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and make extraneous material on the further consideration of h.r. 5972 and that i may include tabular material on the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. pursuant to house resolution 697 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 5972. will the gentleman from indiana,

mr. bucshon, kindly take the chair. the chair: the committee will be in order. the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 5972, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the department of transportation and housing and urban development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2013, and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of the whole rose on wednesday, june 27, 2012, an amendment was offered by the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, had been disposed of and the bill had been read through page 150, line 9. for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa seek recognition? mr. latham: mr. chairman, i ask

unanimous consent to vacate the request for recorded vote on the landry amendment due the end put the question de novo. the chair: is there objection to the request for the gentleman from iowa? without objection, the request for recorded vode on the amendment is vacated and the chair will put the question de novo. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. landry of louisiana. the chair: the question is on adoption of the amendment offered by the gentleman from louisiana. those in favor say aye. those opposed say no. the ayes have it. the amendment is adopted. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, proceedings will now resume on the amendments on which further proceedings were postponed in the following order. an amendment by mrs. blackburn of tennessee. amendment number 13 by mr. mcclintock of california. and amendment by mr. lankford of

oklahoma. amendment 9 by mr. denham of california. the chair will reduce to two minutes the time for any electronic vote after the first vote in the series. the unfinished business is the request for recorded vote on the amendment offered by the the gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. blackburn, on which further proceedings were postponed and which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mrs. blackburn of tennessee. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned

coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 166. the nos are 254 and the amendment is not agreed to. the chair: the question is on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 13 printed in the congressional record offered by mr. mcclintock of california. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote.

[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote the yeas are 235. the noes are 186. the amendment is adopted. the committee will come to order. the committee will come to order. members will clear the well.

the committee will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak for one minute. the chair: without objection, so ordered. >> mr. speaker, you know last night was the 51st annual congressional quarterly roll call baseball game for charity. the democratic team won 18-5 last night. mr. doyle: mr. speaker, there's 21 outs in the game we played because we only play seven innings. cedric richmond struck out 16 batters so we didn't leave -- didn't leave much work father our infield. -- for our infield.

>> mr. speaker, the house is not in order. mr. doyle: if the republicans win the presidency cedric will be offered a cabinet position. just to get him out of here. other notable, cedric came within three feet to take one out of the park at national field. ben chandler had a fantastic game. named co-m.v.p. mr. speaker, the real winner last night was the boys and girls club of washington, d.c., and the washington literacy council. this was a record year for the congressional baseball game. we came close to raising for the first time ever almost a quarter of a million dollars for the charities. i want to congratulate my good

friend and republican manager, joe barton, on a hard-fought game. i can say someone that's played in the game for 18 years, i have been part of the highs and lows. i know what it's like to be on both ends of waning and losing ballgame. they came out there and did their best. last night we were just a little bit better than them. mr. chairman, i'd like to turn the floor over to my good friend, joe barton. mr. barton: well, all right. thank you, congressman. there are a few things you said, like most democrats, stretching the truth a little bit. you know, you said that there are only 21 outs in the game. well, we being very generous and open-hearted republicans, we play a game where you got about 31 outs because we were -- we were so friendly with the way we didn't catch the ball. for my republican colleagues, there's good news and bad news. good news is we got nine times as many hits this year.

we got 500% more runs this year. so in some ways we did a lot better. but the bad news is that the democrats doubled the number of runs and as my 6-year-old son jack told me on the way home after the game, he's a t-ball expert, he said, those guys didn't let up on you. you know. mr. doyle: it's not in my nature, joe. mr. barton: some of you who actually went to the game noticed about the fourth inning pete sessions, our first base coach, and tim scott, one of our pitchers, who are both on the rules committee, had to leave to go back to the rules. now, there is no truth to the rumor that i had asked for an emergency rule asking cedric richmond be declared ineligible for that game. there is no truth to that

rumor. but our guys played well. our m.v.p., pat meehan of pennsylvania, pitched in relief real well. john shimkus got two hits. jeff flake got a double and knocked in two runs. sam graves stole several bases. and played very well out in the field. and so as my 6-year-old son, jack, also said, mr. doyle, enjoy it while you can because it won't last forever. you can't win every game. but congratulations and a job well done on both sides. mr. doyle: will my friend yield for one last second? i think it's also notable that our house chaplain, father conroy, did get a chance to play in the game last night and we put him in as pinch runner and i think it's notable to say, father conroy stole home. mr. barton: that means god owes

us one. mr. doyle: we want to give a round of applause to our chaplain for playing in the game. i thank my friend. mr. chairman, i yield back. just one final -- here it is, guys. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. without objection, two-minute voting will continue. the unfinished business is a request for a recorded vote by the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. lankford, on which the yeas and nays were ordered and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: an amendment offered by mr. lankford of oklahoma. the chair: those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote, the yeas are 234, the nays --

the chair: on this vote, the yeas are 234, the nays are 191, the amendment is agreed. to the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on the -- on which the ayes prerailed by voice vote. the clerk: amendment number nine printed in the congressional record, offered by mr. denham of california. the chair: a sufficient number having risen, a recorded vote is ordered.

this is a two-minute vote. members will record their votes by electronic device. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote, the yeas are --

the chair: on this vote, the yeas are 239, the nays are 185rk the amendment is adopt the clerk will read the last two line os they have bill. the clerk: page 250, line 10, this act may be cited as the housing and urban development and related agencies act of to 13. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman are from iowa rise? >> i move that the committee do now rise and report the bill back to the house with the sundry amendments and recommend that the amendments be agreed to and that the bill pass. the chair: the question is on the committee rising. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it, the committee rises.

mr. speaker, the committee of the whole house on the state of the union having had under consideration h.r. 5972, as amended by house resolution 697, directs me to report the same back to the house with sundry amendments with recommendation that the antidepressants be agreed to and that the bill, as amended, do pass. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has had under consideration the bill h.r. 5972 and reports the bill as amended by house resolution 697 back to the house with sundry further amendments adopted in the committee of the whole. under the rule, the previous question is ordered. is a separate vote demanded on further amendments by the committee of the whole? if not, the chair will put them engross. the question is on adoption of the amendments. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the amendments are adopt the question is on enfwrose. and third reading of the bill.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it, third reading. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the departments of transportation and housing and urban development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2013, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. will members take their conversations off the floor. now rather than later. please take your seats. before we can proceed with business, the house will be in order. again, will members take their conversations off the floor and please take your seats. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona rise? >> i have a motion to recommit at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: is the gentleman opposed to the bill?

i'm opposed to the bill in its current form. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman qualifies. the clerk will report the mission. the clerk: mr. barber of arizona requests they report the bill back forthwith, with the following amendments, after the dollar amount, after the dollar reduced by $34 million, page 74, line six, after the dollar amount, insert, reduced by $13 million. page 74, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert reduced by $7 million. page 74, line 12, after the first dollar amount, insert reduced by $26 million. page 74, line 16, after the dollar amount, insert reduced by $1 million. page 7 , line 19, after the dollar amount, insert reduced by $5 million. page 74, line 23, after the dollar amount, insert reduced by $100,000.

page 75, line 7, after the dollar amount, insert increased by $75 million. page 82, line 6, after the dollar amount insert increased by $75 million. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona, before he is recognized, deserves to be heard. the house will come to order. the gentleman from arizona is recognized for five minutes. mr. barber: i'm offering this final amendment to assist our veterans. mr. speaker, and my colleagues, i came before you last week to be sworn in and i spoke then about working together, working across the aisle, to ensure that my constituents and all of our constituents are served by our very best work, rather than our partisan ambitions.

so i rise today in that same spirit. i rise today to ask that we come together on an amendment to help those who most deserve our gratitude and our assistanceful the veterans who have bravely served to defend our homeland. today, we have an opportunity to take care of the veterans of our military who, much to our collective shame, are homeless. i remember the vietnam war. and i remember how it divided our nation. but most of all, i remember the men and women who were sent to fight in vietnam. who often bore the brunt of the anger over the war itself. derision that should have been directed toward policymakers was instead directed to those who had put their lives on the line for the country we love.

and we let them down. we failed them when they came home. and now they and other veterans , a total estimated 70,000 of our nation's homeless population, 70,000, that is, i am sure, we all agree, heat -- that is, i am sure we all agree, completely unacceptable. i don't believe anyone on either side of the aisle thinks we should allow 70,000 men and women who wore our nation's uniform to continue to go without a home. with my amendment, we will ensure that we have enough housing vouchers to assist every one of those veterans. i submit, mr. speaker, and esteemed colleagues, that this is the least we owe to our veterans. there are over 100,000 veterans in my southern arizona district. let me tell you about one of them.

christopher murray a disabled desert storm medic and combat veteran who came to our office to seek our help when i served as congresswoman giffords' district director. a bank was foreclosing on his home, he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. we were able to rescind the foreclosure and allow him to stay in his own home. the simple digny of being in our own home during your final days is something we all too often take for granted. we must not deny that dignity to those who like mr. murray served our country so well. my amendment offered every one of us to do what our office did then, to ensure our veterans get our help and have the simple dignity of a roof above their heads. my amendment does that while recusing -- reducing the deficit. the passage of this amendment will not, will not prevent passage of this underlying bill. if the amendment is adopted, it

will be incorporated into the bill and the bill will be immediately voted upon. and so though we may disagree on parts of the bill today, we have the opportunity to speak up for the men and women who have fought for our country. and let us all be able to go home and look every veteran we represent in the eye and know that we did the right thing by them and by their homeless brothers and sisters. i urge everyone to vote yes on this final amendment. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from iowa -- does the gentleman from iowa claim time in opposition? >> i do. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is opposed to the motion. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. latham: i thank the speaker. i rise in opposition to the motion to recommit. the veterans' homeless program is a very good program. we all understand that. in this bill, we provide $75

million for 10,000 new vouchers. in the bill already. so there's no question that we are meeting the need. this is the same as last year and this -- what we have in the bill is the president's request. let me say that again. what we have in the bill, for veterans' vouchers, is what the president asked for. i will also say, it's interesting at this time to bring this motion. we have been through subcommittee markup, we have gone through full committee markup, we have been on the floor of this house for two days, and no one has ever raised this issue. because everyone understood that we had fully met the funding requirements for the veterans' homeless vouchers. so it's an interesting time to bring this amendment, this motion.

i will tell the folks, if in fact we find out there is an additional need before we get to conference, there isn't anybody in this house that won't support it. but we have fully funded the needs, this has been through a full vetting process, now at the last moment you come up with a motion that is not necessary because everyone supports these vouchers. this is a good, balanced bill. i urge a no vote on the motion to recommit. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield back. no time -- time has been yielded back. without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit. the motion is -- the question is on the motion to recommit. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the noes have it. mr. barber: i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. a sufficient number having

risen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 and rule 9 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on the motion to recommit will be followed by five-minute votes on passage of h r. 5972 and toppings of the conference report on h r. 4348. s that 15-minute vote. -- this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: the yeas are 233. the motion is not adopted. the question is on passage of the bill. under clause 10 of rule 20, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. fup one any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] -- [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the

united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 258.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 260. the nays are 162.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 261. the nays are 163. the amendment -- motion passes. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the unfinished business is the question on adoption of the conference report on h.r. 4348

on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4348, an act to provide an extension of federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the highway trust fund pending enactment of a multiyear law re-authorizing such programs, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on adoption of the conference report. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 373. the nays are 52.

the conference report is adopted. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. at this point the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore:

without objection. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, today the house passed a bipartisan one-year extension of the current interest rate for federally subsidized student loans and this is a good thing for students across the country but as we celebrate this accomplishment let's keep our eye on the larger picture. we wouldn't be worried about these interest rates if it weren't for the fact the economy was so weak and the cost of education so high. according to the department of education, the savings will be $7 a month for the average stafford loan borrower. while that may not seem like a lot, each dollar counts for the college graduate still searching for a good paying job. we can have a larger effect for students by working to repeal federal unfunded mandates that drive up the cost of tuition and working to put the wheels back on the economy. as a member of the subcommittee of higher education and work force training, i'm committed to making that happen. let's work together to ensure that students can secure a quality education at a reasonable cost and get great

jobs when they graduate. there's no better social program than a good paying job. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, with a few minutes to spare, we just voted to make sure that the interest rate for the stafford student loan program was going to stay at 3.4% and avoid the doubling of rates which would have happened saturday night if we had not acted. mr. courtney: this is an issue which took months to get to. president obama challenged congress back on the state of the union in january telling us that we must act. it took months to get any response, and i want to congratulate the 130,000 college students all across america who submitted a petition to the speaker's office saying it's time to get moving. we started the countdown clock on that day, 110, and now we are defusing the time bomb that would have exloaded with a

higher interest rate if we had not acted. we need to deal with the high cost of college and student loan debt which now exceeds credit card debt and consumer loan debt. having said that, we saw today an honest compromise, people coming together to make sure that that lower rate was going to be extended. let's use that example to move forward and solve this problem for middle class families all across america. again, to those students who worked so hard to have their voices heard, congratulations. let's roll up our sleeves and continue the great work. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from mississippi rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, today is a good day for the people of mississippi's fourth congressional district. it's a good day for the people of the gulf states because today with passage of the restore act we give these states the tools they need to continue vital economic and environmental recovery. less than a year ago a small

group of gulf coast legislators came together with big support from their communities and a mission to make the gulf coast whole. mr. palazzo: this is no small effort but it shows our support from those affected by the single largest man-made disaster in history. i am proud to be part of this landmark legislation. i want to thank those who worked hard to make this happen, from my gulf coast colleagues, house leadership to local leaders, business and conservation groups. there were so many who said this could not be done in an election with so much competing for time on the legislative calendar, but we knew how important it was to pass this bill. we did not give up because we knew that restoring and replenishing the gulf coast is more than just a responsible decision. it is the right thing to do. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

mr. dold: mr. speaker, as people in the united states evaluate what happened this past weekend in the presidential election in egypt, i have a simple message. we shouldn't deceive ourselves. at a time when we are focused on stopping iran's nuclear weapons program and isolating the iranian regime, the incoming egyptian president vows to expand ties with iran. at a time when families in southern israel constantly live in fear of rocket attacks from hamas-controlled gaza, the incoming egyptian president vows to expand ties with hamas. as for relations with israel, we should not paper over the most obvious reason for alarm. while the incoming president has recently pledged to honor the camp david accords, it is our responsibility to ensure that the u.s. good will is not taken advantage of and painfully looked upon as naive. we must understand that the muslim brotherhood has a very clear history of opposing the

peace treaty, and six weeks ago, the incoming president stated, jihad is our past and death for the sake of allah is our most lofty aspiration. while we welcome the democratic process, mr. speaker, this result is nothing to cheer. we must not be in denial of what the muslim brotherhood really wants. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor longtime bakersfield icon wendy wayne who passed away on june 17 after a four-year struggle with cancer. mr. mccolin ton: wendy was the -- mr. mcclintock: wendy was the person to make sure those in need were helped. she was ininstrumental in leading the community connection for childcare in bakersfield and later the first

five current organizations which served the youth of our community. you know, one of my fondest memories was two years ago when wendy joined me in this house. she was the guest for the state of the union. sometimes we had philosophical difference but it never changed our friendship. wendy will forever be known as the mother teresa of bakersfield. she will be missed but her deeds and her life will not be forgotten. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from new york rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor corporal kyle r. schneider. carl r. schneider was born on january 8, 1988 to richard and maury schneider. he was raised in new york with his brother, kevin. he was a graduate of baker high

school and attended anadaga community college for one year in the criminal justice program. while at baker high school he played baseball, football, and ran track. he loved the outdoors and he was an avid hunter and fisherman. in march of 2008, kyle joined the united states marine corps and in january of 2011 was assigned to the third platoon and deployed to afghanistan in support of operation enduring freedom. in defense of our nation kyle was killed in the helmund province in afghanistan on june 30, 2011, by an improvise explosive device. he was 23 years old. as we commemorate the first anniversary of his death, let us honor the service and sacrifice of corporal kyle r. schneider. he is an american hero. he was a proud and valiant marine. he was also a son, a brother, a grandson, a fiance, friend, and commom rad.

ms. buerkle: kyle is greatly missed and no words will diminish the grief of those who knew and loved him. in his death kyle r. schneider has earned the thanks of a grateful nation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following personal request. the clerk: leave of absence requested for mr. clyburn of south carolina for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the request is granted. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? without objection. mr. clarke: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate you giving me this opportunity. today this house voted to extend

the cap on student loan interest rates, or at least certain student loans, for an additional year. that's fine. but it's only a band-aid. over one million americans, and this is just one box of many that contains petition signatures say that they want more relief. they want their student loan debt cut, reduced, and excessive debt forgiven. so let's listen to over one million americans who want the student loan debt forgiven in this country so that we can give people hope and create jobs. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. shuster: i ask unanimous consent that the committee of referral be discharged from the further consideration of h.r. 6064 and ask for its immediate consideration in the house.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6064, a bill to provide an extension of federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the highway trust fund, pending enactment of a multiyear law re-authorizing such programs. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to consideration of the bill? without objection, the bill is engrossed, read a third time, and passed. and the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

the chair will recognize members for specialoid speeches without prejudice to the possible resumption of lemming business. -- legislative business. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from florida, mr. west, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. west: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today not only as a member of congress but as a citizen of the great state of florida. my fellow floridians are frustrated with the federal government for imposing more and more burdensome regulations that

continues to hurt our already struggling state earn nation. the president's policies have failed and are making this economy worse. while the president continues to give speeches on the principals of job growth, his administration continues to push and pursue job-killing policies that threaten this country's economic recovery. in fact, since president obama took office, we have seen a 52% increase in completed regulations deemed economically significant. these regulations are costing the economy at least $100 million each year. mr. speaker, this is worth repeating so the american people clearly understand, since january of 2009, this president has increased by more than 50% the regulations costing at least $100 million annually. the president cannot stand on the record of the last 3 1/2

years, so he is regrettably turned to the politics of envy and division. we cannot create a fair system for job creators when the federal government keeps changing the rules. we can't help the job seeker by punishing the job creator with more government red tape. according to a september 2010 report from the small business administration, total regulatory cost l-to $1.75 trillion annually. put another way, this $1.75 trillion of regulatory burden is another money for businesses to provide 35 million private sector jobs with an average salary of $50,000. according to the same report, small businesses which have created 64% of all new jobs in the past 15 years face an annual regulatory cost of $10,585 per

employee. which, mr. speaker, is 36% higher than the regulatory cost facing large firms. yet rather than provide incentives for these businesses to expand and create jobs, the obama administration raises taxes and imposes unnecessary, burdensome layers of red tape that impede private sector investment and destroy jobs. in the last few months, we have heard a lot about fairness from the president, especially when it comes from the so-called rich. accompanying president obama's budget for fiscal year 2013 was a simple message to the american people. everyone must shoulder their fair share. mr. president, the free market is not about fairness. this is not little league baseball where everyone gets a trophy. this is nothing fair about the federal government telling you

what kind of light bulbs you can use to light your home, how many gallons of water you can use to flush your toilet, and which kinds of food your children have to consume. while the president continues the kansas city shuffle, trying to get the american people to look right while he goes left, he continues to try and turn the attention of the american people away from his policies that continue to drag the economy down. the facts speak for themselves. today there are more federal regulations on the books than at any other time in the history of our nation. the obama administration currently has proposed 3,118 regulations with 167 considered economically significant. in 2011 alope, mr. speaker, there were 79,000 new pages printed in the federal register. the same year the obama administration issued $231.4

billion in regulatory burdens from opposed or final rules. today -- proposed or final rules. today there are 2,91,676 un-elected federal regulatory agency employees surrounding the united states capitol. acording to the financial services round table, it will take 24,503 employees just to comply with the flood of regulations emanating from the dodd-frank banking regulation. according to a february 15, 2012 gallup poll, 48% of small businesses said they were not hiring due to concerns about possible rising health care costs while 46% said they were worried about new government regulations. a 2010 study by the heritage foundation found that an

unprecedented 43 major regulations were imposed in fiscal year 2010 with a total economic cost of $26.5 billion. the highest total since at least 1981. a recent report from the heritage foundation also found that during the three years of the obama administration, a total of 1 o 06 new major regulations have been imposed at a cost of more than $46 billion annually, and nearly $11 billion in one time implementation costs. this amount is about five times the cost imposed by the prior administration of president george w. bush. mr. speaker, i think it is essential the american people understand just a few proposed obama administration regulations that will cost each of us billions of dollars.

reconsideration of the 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standards, estimated cost, $19 billion to $90 billion. it was withdrawn in september of 2011. national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants for coal and oil-fired electric utility steam generating units, estimated cost $10 billion. national emissions standards for hazardous air polluters were a major source in industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and process heaters. estimated cost, $3 billion. standard for the management of coal combustion residuals, generated by commercial, electric power producers, estimated cost, $6 million to $1.5 billion. require motor carriers operating commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce to use

electric -- electronic onboard recorders to document their drivers' hours, estimated cost, $2 billion. hours of service on commercial vehicle, motor vehicle drivers, estimated cost, $1 billion. a consumer product safety commission rule deeming children's books printed prior to 1986 to be potentially toxic due to the possibility of excessive lead in the inc. even though the actual risk of the exposure from older books only ranks at .5 on a scale of one to 10 according to the centers for disease control and prevention. nonetheless, the consumer product safety commission has urged libraries to put older children's books in storage until they can be tested for lead toxicity at a cost of $300 to $500 for each book. the federal government attempt

to regulate the precise moisture, temperature, and chemical standards of compoast for use in producing certified organic foods. the department of energy's desire to rewrite water efficiency standards for the nation's urinals. yes, rewrite water efficiency standards for the nation's urinals, that's correct, mr. speaker. an equal employment opportunity commission declaration that requiring a high school diploma as a job certification has a desperate impact on certain individuals that fail to meet such a standard. a department of justice regulation requiring enhanced access for disabled individuals at a public and private facilities such as swimming pools. and of course, numeric nutrient criteria, which i will discuss later.

it's no surprise why entrepreneurship in the united states of america is at a 17-year low. in 2010 the obama administration published 82,480 pages of regulations. . the affordable care act and dodd-frank were passed and scheduled to regulate greenhouse gases as well in the history of this country. in 2011, agencies finalized $187 million in deregulatory actions and promosed more than $1.1 billion in recisions. however, these deregulatory measures were dwarfed by the new regulations that the administration published just this year. for a propose of final rules the obama administration published $31.4 billion in

regulatory burdens and $133 million paperwork -- 133 million paperwork burden hours. assuming it would take 66,730 employees just to file the federal pape are work. on average, mr. speaker, eliminating the job of a single regulator would grow the american economy by 6.2 million and nearly 100 private sector jobs annually. the reverse is true as well. with each million-dollar increase in the regulatory budget that cost the economy 420 private sector jobs. a recent article in "the economist" highlighted the increased complexity caused by obamacare, citing that every hour spent treating a patient in america creates at least 30 minutes of paperwork and often a whole hour. next year, the number of

federally mandated categories of illness and injury for which hospitals must claim reimbursement will rise from 18,000 to 140,000. there are nine codes, mr. speaker, relating to injuries caused by parrots, yes, parrots and three relating to burns from water skis. let's be clear at this point in time. the only jobs created by regulations are jobs for regulators and more regulators. what i notice when i ride up and down federal and dixie highways in south florida are the numbers of closed storefronts, the numbers of vacant spaces. however, when i fly to washington, d.c., mr. speaker, i see the number of sky cranes building more housing and office space for these

regulators. the number of federal workers employed in regulatory activities, excluding the t.s.a., has jumped 20% since 2008. but while total work force participation in the united states of america is at a 30-year low. our nation has faced three years of unemployment at or above 8%. mr. speaker, do you want to guess what the unemployment rate is in washington, d.c.? in may the unemployment in washington, d.c., metro area was 5.3%. of course, the environment is only one area of regulatory overreach by the obama administration. in its review of the overregulated america, "the economist" magazine noted that the dodd-frank-bacon law at 848 pages is 23 times longer than the preceding glass-steagall

act. these regulations are choking off the oxygen of growth in this country, especially in our area of south florida. mr. speaker, let me take a moment to talk about an example which is taking place in our congressional district. in 2006, one became the only company in the united states capable of repairing megayachts with the opening of its facility in west palm beach. the company took a delapidated boat yard and turned it into the finest repair facility in the world. this facility now employs 230 workers directly and as many as 300 subcontractors each and every day. the facility quickly exceeded all business expectations, attracting customers from

around the globe and cementing south florida's leadership position in the marine industry. last year this facility generated $5.5 million in local and state tax revenue. consider the from regulatory hu they had to leap through, the mountains of paperwork in order to get a permanent issue and the burdensome red tape they endured every step of the way. mr. speaker, it is remarkable that any u.s. company chooses to do business on its own shores. to satisfy the environmental regulations and requirements for the first facility, it was required to inspect and analyze every other possible location in the area to see if there was an alternative site that would have less impact on local sea grass beds. once the location was chosen, the environmental impact had to be measured and mitigated one for one. in the case of this company, five acres of sea grass needed

to be replaced. since there are limited areas where sea grass could be replanted in the vicinity, the company, a private sector company had to buy an island, construct a wall around it and plant sea grass. the island alone cost the company $4 million. in 2008, ribovich realized there was market potential for a second facility to serve the even larger yachts. construction for this new facility is estimated to create over 600 jobs. the total economic impact for -- from the first five years of operations is estimated to be $630 million in palm beach county, and $111 million in the city of riviera beach. one would think after going through the permitting process and jumping through all the environmental hurdles to open

the first facility, the second would go more smoothly, one would think. one would think given the state of our local economy a new project of this scope will be are welcomed with open arms, but, mr. speaker, four years later ribovich still hasn't got a permit for the proposed project in riviera beach. and did i mention the 600 jobs that will be created? that's correct. i did. however, the federal regulators don't seem to care about that fact. what is happening to ribovich is not an isolated incident. this is happening all over the united states. ribovich is merely a whiff of the toxic fumes emanating from the obama administration that regulators are using to choke off job and economic growth with excessive environmental regulation. another case in important is a

knew marek nutrient criteria. the environmental protection agency has proposed ludicrous standards for florida's nitrogen and phosphorus levels for the lakes, rivers and streams. until 2009, the state of florida was working cooperatively with the e.p.a. to improve our water quality standards. however, in 2009 in an attempt to settle a lawsuit brought by environmental groups, the e.p.a. decided to abandon that cooperative approach. federally preempt our water quality state standards and impose new criteria on our state. like all floridians, i want clean and safe water. for several years now, florida has been working to improve its water quality and in many respects, the state's efforts have been a model for other states throughout this country. as florida wildlife

commissioner, ron burge ron, explains a water standard required by knew marek nutrient cry tear -- numeric nutrient criteria is more than rain water which is 15 billion parts. and water which is humanly impossible to achieve. even the e.p.a.'s own science advisory board has expressed serious concerns about the science used to support the regulation and the e.p.a. has repeatedly refused to allow a third-party review of the proposal. but there is no doubt about one thing, mr. speaker. this mandate is poisonous to the economy. these regulations are not about whether we want clean water for florida. these regulations are about how we reach that goal and at what cost. the -- this e.p.a. mandate,

which singles out the state of florida, will drive up the cost of doing business, double water bills for all florida families and will destroy jobs. the florida department of environmental protection estimates this federal mandate may force municipal waste water and stormwater utilities to spend as much as $26 billion in capital improvements to upgrade their facilities. this $26 billion will eventually be paid by each floridian who uses water, and that means every resident. a study by the university of florida and the florida department of agriculture and consumer services concluded the e.p.a.'s numeric nutrient criteria regulations would cause florida's agricultural community roughly $1 billion each year with an additional indirect cost also exceeding $1

billion. this billion-dollar cost eventually will be paid by every american who wants to enjoy an orange, grapefruit or other produce that comes from our state. the study goes on to say that implementation of the e.p.a. regulations could put more than 14,000 agriculture workers out of a job and would cost the average household up to $990 in higher sewer rates. that is per year, per family, $990 more in higher water bills. can our already stagnant economy in florida take that? will families move to florida and choose to buy homes in an already depressed housing market if they're going to have to pay nearly $1,000 more in their annual water bill for years to come? the e.p.a. has repeatedly

refused to allow any third-party review of the science behind the proposed mandate of numeric nutrient criteria. the e.p.a. has failed to complete an economic analysis. in a disturbing article in "the new york times," an e.p.a. official said they have no plans to implement this regulation in any other state except for the state of florida. excessive e.p.a. regulations hamper business expansion and job growth in nearly every industry. they hurt farmers. they hurt utility workers, people fitters, construction workers, coal miners, factory workers, truck drivers and machinists. 60 national companies and dozens of florida-based companies and organizations including the united states chamber of commerce and the american farm bureau has sent

letters to the united states congress to oppose these burdensome regulations. mr. speaker, we must reduce the regulatory burden on our nation's businesses and help put americans back to work. we must get the federal government out of the way of our small businesses and entrepreneurs so that they can succeed and prosper. when there is a need for regulations, there should be developed -- they should be developed in concert with the public sector and done with common sense. over the last month the united states house of representatives have passed more than two dozen bills designed to do just that, staunch the toxic regulatory flow coming from the federal agencies. unfortunately, mr. speaker, they are all still sitting on senate majority leader harry reid's desk which really does stink. john engler, the president of the business roundtable,

recently stated that regulations are hidden taxes that strangle job creation. we need action by government agencies to clear out obsolete rules and streamline permitting to reduce delays and impediments for companies to invest and grow. the private sector is the only hope for future job creation. we need to recognize this and work together to let businesses, small and large, invest in people. and, mr. speaker, i could not have said that any better. mr. speaker, i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: spoupsspouns, the gentlewoman from the district of columbia, ms. norton, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minutes as the designee of the minority leader.